IMPROVING STUDENTS’ WRITING ABILITY USING TASK – BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING (TBLT)

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IMPROVING STUDENTS’ WRITING ABILITY USING TASK – BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING (TBLT)

(A Classroom Action Research at the Students of Class X TKJ 1 SMK Negeri 2 Sragen in the 2010/2011 Academic Year)

A THESIS

BY

UMI SHOLIHAH S890908021

Submitted to Fulfill One of the Requirements for the Completion of Graduate Degree in English Education

ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT GRADUATE SCHOOL PROGRAM

SEBELAS MARET UNIVERSITY SURAKARTA

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This thesis, entitled “Improving Students’ Writing Ability Using Task – Based Language Teaching (TBLT) (A Classroom Action Research at the Students of Class X TKJ 1 SMKN 2 Sragen in the 2010/2011 Academic Year)” has been approved by consultants.

Consultant I Consultant II

Dr. Sujoko, M. A. Drs. Heribertus Tarjana, M.A. NIP.195109121980031002

The Head of English Education Graduate School, Sebelas Maret University

Dr. Ngadiso, M.Pd. NIP. 196212311988031009

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LEGITIMATION FROM THE BOARD OF EXAMINERS

This thesis entitled, “Improving Students’ Writing Ability Using Task – Based Language Teaching (TBLT) (A Classroom Action Research at the Students of Class X TKJ 1 SMKN 2 Sragen in the 2010/2011 Academic Year)” has been examined by the board of thesis examiners on August, 4th 2011.

The Board of Thesis Examiners: Signatures

Chairman: Dr. Ngadiso, M.Pd. (……….……..)

NIP. 196212311988031009

Secretary: Dr. Abdul Asib, M.Pd. (………..) NIP. 19520307198031005

Members: 1. Dr. Sujoko, M. A. (………..)

NIP.195109121980031002

2. Drs. Heribertus Tarjana, M.A. (………..)

The Director of Graduate School The Head of English Education Sebelas Maret University Graduate School Sebelas Maret

University

Prof. Dr. Suranto, M.Sc, Ph,D Dr. Ngadiso, M.Pd

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PRONOUNCEMENT

This is to certify that I myself write this thesis, entitled “Improving Students’ Writing Ability Using Task – Based Language Teaching (TBLT) (A Classroom Action Research at the Students of Class X TKJ 1 SMK Negeri 2 Sragen in the 2010/2011 Academic Year)”. It is not plagiarism or made by others. Anything associated with other works is written in quotation, the source of which is listed on reference.

If then this pronouncement proves incorrect, I am ready to accept any academic punishment including the withdrawal of my academic degree.

Surakarta, July 2011

UMI SHOLIHAH

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v ABSTRACT

UMI SHOLIHAH. Improving Students’ Writing Ability Using Task – Based Language Teaching (TBLT): A Classroom Action Research at the Students of Class X TKJ 1 SMK Negeri 2 Sragen in the 2010/2011 Academic Year. A thesis. Surakarta: English Education Department of Graduate School, Sebelas Maret University of Surakarta. 2011. The first Consultant: Dr. Sujoko, M. A. The second consultant: Drs. Heribertus Tarjana, M.A.

The objective of the research is to find out whether the uses of TBLT can improve students’ writing ability. Besides that, the research is also designed to identify the strengths and the weaknesses of the implementation of TBLT in improving students’ writing ability.

The research was carried out at SMK Negeri 2 Sragen, from July to October 2010. The subject of the research was the students of Class X TKJ 1 SMKN 2 Sragen. It was an action research. It covered three cycles. Each of which consisted of planning, acting, observing, and reflecting. The data of this research were obtained from several techniques including observation, interview, questionnaires, and test. To analyze the data the researcher applied two types of data analysis in the research. The first is numerical data or quantitative data. The quantitative data are in the form of the writing scores. The writing scores as the result of the pre – test and post – test in this research were analyzed by comparing the means of each test to find out the improvement of the students’ achievement in writing. The second types of data are in the form of non – numerical data or qualitative data. In analyzing qualitative data, the researcher made use of interactive model; they are data reduction, data display, and data verification.

The findings reveal that the action of improving the students’ writing ability using TBLT is successful viewed from some dimensions. First, TBLT can improve writing ability of the students of Class X TKJ 1 SMKN 2 Sragen in the 2010/2011 Academic year. Second, this research can identify the strengths and the weaknesses of the implementation of TBLT in improving writing ability of the students of Class X TKJ 1 SMKN 2 Sragen in the 2010 / 2011 Academic year. It could raise the students’ participation in writing class and could enhance the students’ writing ability.

The research findings of this research imply that TBLT is very effective. The implementation of TBLT improved the students’ writing ability. It gives the chance to the students to explore their ideas and to choose their own words, and encourages students to be active learners. In TBLT, the teacher has a lot of opportunities to develop various activities. TBLT also made the students able to make a composition using appropriate vocabulary, correct grammar, mechanics, content, and organization.

Finally, this research is expected to be useful for other researchers more particularly those who are interested in conducting a similar research.

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vi MOTTO

“Anything never falls, but the failure is the base to have success.”

“The future belongs to those who believe to the beauty of their dreams.” (Eleanor Roosevelt).

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DEDICATION

This thesis is especially dedicated to:

Ø Her beloved father and mother, Muh. Sukamta and Sri Waliyati for their endless love.

Ø Her brother and sisters, Faisal, Aisah, Farida, Hanifah, and Fiah for their prayer and support.

Ø Her nephews and nieces, Reyhan, Firza, Helfi, Tata, Ica, Rafli, Dzikri, and Aziz for their great love.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Alhamdulillahi robbil ‘alamin. Praise to ALLAH SWT the Almighty for

the blessing to the writer so that she has been able to pass through all the problems during the completion of this thesis as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for getting the graduate degree of English Education, as well as for the health, ability, and strength given to the writer so that she could pass the writer’s study.

She realizes that there are many people who have helped her finish her study. Therefore, in this opportunity the writer would like to express her deepest gratitude and appreciation to:

1. The Director of Graduate School of Sebelas Maret University for giving her an opportunity to study in this Graduate School and also permission to write this thesis.

2. The Head of English Education Department Graduate School, Dr. Ngadiso, M.Pd. who has given her support and guidance for writing this thesis.

3. Dr. Sujoko, M. A. and Drs. Heribertus Tarjana, M.A., as the first and second consultants, for their patience, invaluable guidance, support, suggestion, and corrections along the process of writing this thesis.

4. Drs. Subono, the principal of SMKN 2 Sragen for his kindness to give the writer the opportunity to continue her study and carry out this research at his school.

5. The English teachers and staffs of office management of SMKN 2 Sragen for their patience and help in the research.

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6. All lecturers of English Education Department Graduate School of Sebelas Maret University, whose courses have provided her with deeper insights particularly into the teaching and learning English, research methodology, etc, and all the clerks of English Education Department of Graduate School of Sebelas Maret University, who have facilitated the writer in many ways. 7. Her beloved mother, father, brother, sisters, and friends who have contributed

to her study immeasurably, for their sincere love and prayers.

Finally, the writer realizes that this thesis is still far from being perfect. Therefore, the constructive suggestions are needed for the progress of the next study.

Surakarta, July 2011

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

TITLE ………... i

APPROVAL ……… ii

LEGIMATION OF THE BOARD OF EXAMINERS ……….. iii

PRONOUNCEMENT ………... iv

ABSTRACT ………. v

MOTTO ……… vi

DEDICATION ……….... vii

ACKNOWLEGEMENT ……….. viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ………... x

LIST OF TABLES ………... xiv

LIST OF APPENDICES ………. xv

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ………... 1

A. Background of the Research ………... 1

B. Limitation of the Problem ……… 8

C. Problem Statement ……….. 9

D. The Objectives of the Research ………... 9

E. The Benefits of the Research ……….. 10

CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ………... 11

A. Description of Related Literature ……… 11

1. Writing ……….... 11

a. The Nature of Writing ………. 11

b. Writing Skills ………... 14

c. Teaching Writing ………. 17

d. Types of Writing ……….. 20

e. Writing Evaluation ………... 24

2. Improving Writing Ability .………. 25

B. Task – Based Language Teaching ……… 27

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2. The Features of TBLT ……… 31

3. The Teaching Procedure of TBLT ………. 32

4. The Advantages of TBLT ……….. 35

5. The Disadvantages of TBLT ……….. 37

C. Rationale ………. 37

D. Action Hypothesis ………... 42

CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ………. 43

A. The Setting of the Research ……… 43

B. The Subject of the Research ……… 43

C. The Method of the Research ………... 44

D. The Process of Research ………. 48

1. General Plan ……….... 49

2. Action ………. 50

3. Observation and Action ……….. 50

4. Reflection on Action ………... 50

5. Revising the Plan ………. 50

E. Technique of Collecting the Data ……… 51

1. Observation ………. 51

2. Interview ………. 51

3. Questionnaire ……….. 52

4. Test ………. 52

F. Technique of Analyzing the Data ……… 56

CHAPTER IV RESEARCH FINDINGS ………... 59

A. The Process of the research ………. 59

1. Condition before the Research ………. . 61

a. Problem ………... 61

b. Planning ……….. 70

2. Research Implementation ………... 72

a. Cycle 1 ……… 76

1) Planning ……….. 78

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xii

3) Observation ……… 93

4) Reflection ……… 96

b. Cycle 2 ………. 97

1) Planning ………... 98

2) Implementing the Action ……… 101

3) Observation ………. 108

4) Reflection ……… 111

c. Cycle 3 ………. 112

1) Planning ……….. 115

2) Implementing the Action ……… 115

3) Observation ………. 126

4) Reflection ……… 129

3. Final Reflection ……….. 130

B. The Research Finding and Discussion ……….... 131

1. Findings ……….. 131

a. Improvement of Students’ writing ability ……… 135

b. Improvement of the teacher’s effort ………….... 139

c. Improvement of Classroom Situation ………….. 139

d. The Strengths and the Weaknesses ……….. 140

e. Other Findings……….. 141

2. Discussion ……… 142

a. The improvement of the students’ writing ability 143 1. TBLT can improve students’ writing achievement ... 143

2. TBLT Develop students’ Ability in expressing ideas ... 144

3. TBLT Develop Students’ Ability to express Ideas in writing using appropriate vocabulary, correct grammatical form, mechanics, content, and organization ... 145

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b. The Improvement of Classroom Situation …….. 146

1. TBLT Makes the Classroom Situation More Alive... 146

2. TBLT Can Increase Students’ Participation in Writing Class ... 147

c. The strengths of implementation of TBLT…….. 148

1. TBLT Can Reduce Teacher’ s Domination in Writing Class ... 148

2. TBLT Provides Bigger Chances for Writing Practice ... 149

CHAPTER V CONCLUSSION AND SUGGESTION ……….. 150

A. Conclusion ……….. 150

B. Implication ……….. 151

C. Suggestion ………... 152

BIBLIOGRAPHY ……… 154

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LIST OF TABLE

Table 4.1 The Process of the Research ... 60

Table 4.2 Field Problems ... 61

Table 4.3 The Problems ... 64

Table 4.4 The Causes ... 65

Table 4.5 Overall Implementation of the Research ... 72

Table 4.6 Result of Cycle 1 ... 76

Table 4.7 Result of Cycle 2 ... 99

Table 4.8 Result of Cycle 3 ... 112

Table 4.9 Summary of the Research Findings ... 131

Table 4.10 The Improvement of Writing Aspects from the First Scorer ... 136

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xv

LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix 1 Blue print of the Pre – Test ... 158

Appendix 2 Pre – Test ... 160

Appendix 3 Readibility of the Test ... 161

Appendix 4 Questionnaire 1 in the Pre – Research Stage ... 162

Appendix 5 Questionnaire 2 in the Pre – Research Stage ... 163

Appendix 6 Questionnaire of the Students’ Perception about the Action .. 166

Appendix 7 Interview Protocol for the Students ... 167

Appendix 8 Interview Protocol for the Teacher ... 168

Appendix 9 Result of Readibility of the Test ... 169

Appendix 10 Result of Questionnaire 1 in the Pre – Research Stage ... 170

Appendix 11 Result of Questionnaire 2 in the Pre – Research Stage ... 171

Appendix 12 Result of Questionnaire of the Students’ Perception about the Action ... 175

Appendix 13 Lesson Plan Cycle 1 ... 177

Appendix 14 Lesson Plan Cycle 2 ... 188

Appendix 15 Lesson Plan Cycle 3 ... 197

Appendix 16 The Students’ Writing Scores ... 208

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commit to user A THESIS

IMPROVING STUDENTS’ WRITING ABILITY USING TASK – BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING (TBLT)

(A Classroom Action Research at the Students of Class X TKJ 1 SMK Negeri 2 Sragen in the 2010/2011 Academic Year)

By:

UMI SHOLIHAH S890908021

English Education Department of Graduate School, Sebelas Maret University of Surakarta.

2011 Abstract

The objective of the research is to find out whether the uses of TBLT can improve students’ writing ability. Besides that, the research is also designed to identify the strengths and the weaknesses of the implementation of TBLT in improving students’ writing ability.

The research was carried out at SMK Negeri 2 Sragen, from July to October 2010. The subject of the research was the students of Class X TKJ 1 SMKN 2 Sragen. It was an action research. It covered three cycles. Each of which consisted of planning, acting, observing, and reflecting. The data of this research were obtained from several techniques including observation, interview, questionnaires, and test. To analyze the data the researcher applied two types of data analysis in the research. The first is numerical data or quantitative data. The quantitative data are in the form of the writing scores. The writing scores as the result of the pre – test and post – test in this research were analyzed by comparing the means of each test to find out the improvement of the students’ achievement in writing. The second types of data are in the form of non – numerical data or qualitative data. In analyzing qualitative data, the researcher made use of interactive model; they are data reduction, data display, and data verification.

The findings reveal that the action of improving the students’ writing ability using TBLT is successful viewed from some dimensions. First, TBLT can improve writing ability of the students of Class X TKJ 1 SMKN 2 Sragen in the 2010/2011 Academic year. Second, this research can identify the strengths and the weaknesses of the implementation of TBLT in improving writing ability of the students of Class X TKJ 1 SMKN 2 Sragen in the 2010 / 2011 Academic year. It could raise the students’ participation in writing class and could enhance the students’ writing ability.

The research findings of this research imply that TBLT is very effective. The implementation of TBLT improved the students’ writing ability. It gives the chance to the students to explore their ideas and to choose their own words, and

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encourages students to be active learners. In TBLT, the teacher has a lot of opportunities to develop various activities. TBLT also made the students able to make a composition using appropriate vocabulary, correct grammar, mechanics, content, and organization.

Finally, this research is expected to be useful for other researchers more particularly those who are interested in conducting a similar research.

Key Words: writing ability, Task – Based Language Teaching (TBLT), improving, classroom action research.

Background

The graduates of SMK students should have the ability to use English as one of the primary subjects which is tested in the national examination (UAN). All the skills, namely listening, speaking, reading, and writing must be learnt by all the students, although there is no speaking and writing test in the national examination.

In the writing subject, the students should be able to produce graphemes and orthographic pattern of English; produce writing at an efficient rate of speed to suit the purpose; produce an acceptable core of words and use appropriate word order patterns; use acceptable grammatical systems (e.g., tense, agreement, plural), patterns, and rule; express a particular meaning in different grammatical forms; and use cohesive devices in written discourse. It means that the students should write with the suitable word’s choosing, grammar, spelling, punctuation, control of content and a good organization. Those acquirements of the writing subject make most of the students feel that writing is the most difficult aspect in English skills.

Writing for vocational school’s students is the most difficult lesson among other English skills. It was proved by their scores of writing test; especially free writing, which are worse than the scores of other skills. From the interviews and observations that have been done by the researcher, she found that their difficulties are in some aspects, such as finding an appropriate word suitable with the topics, using of appropriate tenses based on the situation, using of correct verbs (infinitive, past, and past participle), using correct spelling and punctuation,

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arranging a good paragraph suitable with the topic, making a good organization, and exploring their ideas. Students only wrote sentences based on the teacher’s instructions. Students’ activity was to write out grammar exercise. Writing skills were given only to give the stress on using correct tense patterns rather than understanding when the sentences were used. The students were given a short text and instructed to change all singular nouns to plural nouns or to change present tense to past tense, etc. The students were assumed to be not ready yet to create texts by themselves; they were only ready to manipulate forms. Thus, when the teacher asked the students to write a free composition, most of them had difficulties to write it. They could not write it because they never write a composition based on their own ideas and they were afraid of making mistakes. Since the focus of these types of writing exercise is primarily on grammar, students will get good grade if the texts are free from errors or have only just very few errors. Consequently, then, students write very cautiously in English. Therefore, they often avoid writing what they cannot control.

The students’ difficulties in writing are caused by three factors: the students themselves, the teacher and the class situation.

1. The students: the students do not get sufficient writing exercises to explore their ideas, do not have self-confidence, and are afraid of making mistakes. 2. The teacher: the teacher does not give enough exercises, and suitable teaching

method to support the teaching – learning process, especially in teaching writing. In the traditional way of teaching writing, the teacher is mostly concerned with the final product of writing and what the product should look like.

3. The class situation: the situation in writing class is uncomfortable for the students so they are stressed, afraid, and strained when the teacher give them writing exercises.

For this reason, the researcher should find a suitable method in teaching writing to the students so that they can explore their ideas and make a good English composition. The researcher has to make the teaching more explorative and effective for the students than before to develop their writing skills. The

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teaching writing will be more humanistic, friendlier, and fun for the students. The students and the teacher work together and collaborate, and, of course, they become more relaxed.

One method that is considered to be effective to apply in language classroom is Task – Based Language Teaching (TBLT). TBLT is an approach which offers students material which they have to actively engage in the process of teaching – learning in order to achieve a goal or complete a task. TBLT gives a natural context for using target language in the classroom. It gives the chance to the students to explore their ideas and to choose their own words, and encourages students to be active learners. In Task – Based Language Teaching, the teacher has a lot of opportunities to develop various activities. The teacher can use writing tasks with fun activities and familiar topics to the students, for examples describing students’ special person, their home town, their hobbies, their daily activities, their childhood, etc. They can explore their ideas freely and use their own words without worrying about mistakes in using tenses and appropriate words. When they practice to write continually and complete their tasks, they can build their vocabularies; get correct tenses, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and appropriate words; be able to make a good organization in writing, keep logical development of ideas with the content. In the last period of teaching using TBLT the teacher will explain about the using correct of those aspects of writing. The familiarity of the topic and the enjoyment in conducting the task are the solution of students’ difficulties in writing.

The effective steps in Task – Based Language Teaching (TBLT) namely pre – task, task phase, and language focus are very effective to improve the students’ writing skill. Conducted on giving those tasks, there were some significant progressions made by the students. The students tend to be better in their content, organization, syntax / grammar, vocabulary, and mechanics.

Pre – task phase introduces the topic and task for the students, activates the students to find related words and phrases which are suitable to the topic. In the pre-task, the teacher presents what will be expected of the students in the task phase. These will be presented the suggestions and motivations, so the students

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would be encouraged to use what they are comfortable with in order to complete the task. The instructors may also present a model of the task by doing it by themselves or by presenting picture, audio, or video demonstrating the task.

The task – cycle offers the chance to learners to use whatever language they already know in order to carry out the task, and then to improve that language, under teacher’s guidance, while are planning their reports of the task.

The language focus allows a closer study of some of the specific features naturally occurring in the language used during the task cycle. By this point, the learners will have already worked with the language and processed it for meaning, so they are ready to focus on the specific language forms that carry that meaning.

Content

The discussion of the research findings is presented in the following section.

a. Improvement of the students’ writing ability.

The findings of the research showed that the use of TBLT in the writing class could improve students’ writing ability. The improvement of the students’ writing ability could be recognized from the improvement of expressing ideas using appropriate words (vocabulary), using correct syntax / grammatical form and mechanics, and making a composition with good development of ideas (content) and organization.

Before the research, she found that the students had low writing ability. The improvement of writing ability could be seen from the improvement of students’ achievement cycle to cycle. The mean scores of the pre – test was 51.18, the mean score of Cycle 1 was 63.61, the mean score of Cycle 2 was 71.39 and the mean score of Cycle 3 was 78.52.

Besides referring to the writing achievement, the improvement of students’ writing ability can be recognized from the ability of making a composition. Before the research, the students often made a few sentences in each topic and made a lot of mistakes in grammar, tenses, mechanics and other aspects of writing. It was

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caused by their lack of vocabulary, their lack of understanding in writing’s aspects, and their lack of practice in writing. After the implementation of TBLT, the situation was changed. The students could make a better composition using the appropriate word choosing (vocabulary), correct grammatical patterns (syntax), using correct mechanics, using good logical developing ideas (content), and using good organization.

Another finding of the research showed that there was an improvement of the students’ ability to express their ideas. After the implementation of TBLT, the students could express their ideas clearly using appropriate vocabularies and grammatical forms.

The research finding also found the improvement of the students’ writing ability viewed from the improvement of students’ level of writing from cycle to cycle and the reduction of the students who did not pass the passing grade. The passing grade / KKM (Kriteria Kelulusan Minimal) of the tenth year students in SMKN 2 Sragen was 67. From the 33 students in Class X TKJ 1, the students who did not pass the passing grade in the pre – test were 31 students, in Cycle 1 were 21 students, in Cycle 2 were 11 students, and in Cycle 3 were 4 students. So, there were 29 students or 87 % achieved score above or equal to 67. This means that the class’s target, 75 % of the students’ passing KKM, had been achieved. Even though there were still some students who did not pass the passing grade, but from the improvement of the writing scores from cycle to cycle, it can be concluded that the implementation of TBLT in teaching writing can improve the students’ writing ability.

b. Improvement of the teacher’s effort.

Another finding in this research was dealing with the teacher. As a teacher, she improved in many points. First, she improved in designing and developing teaching materials, such as using interesting pictures or video and preparing work sheets that were suitable for the teaching purpose. Second, she became more familiar with her students. She noticed her students’ potentials and problems in

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writing. Therefore, she could find a suitable way of teaching writing to her students. Third, she appreciated her students better than before the implementation of TBLT.

c. Improvement of the class situation.

The findings of the teaching and learning process showed that there was a change of the class situation before and after TBLT was implemented in the writing class. The teaching and learning process using TBLT was more alive. Most of the activities were students – centered. The teacher applied various interesting activities. The activities were conducted individually, in pairs and in groups.

The students showed high participations in the writing class. They were eager to do the tasks with high spirit. They were not afraid of making mistakes, because the class was enjoyable to the students. The teacher tolerated the students with various levels of abilities. The pair and group work were colored by the students’ laugh. It showed the eagerness of the students in learning writing in a relax situation.

d. The Strengths and the Weaknesses of Using Task – Based Language Teaching (TBLT).

The strengths:

- TBLT could improve the students’ writing ability in vocabulary, mechanics, syntax / grammar, content, and organization. The improvement of each writing aspect from the first and second scorer can be seen in Table 4.10 and 4.11.

- TBLT could develop the students’ ability in expressing ideas.

- Working in group increased the students’ participation in writing class. - TBLT could encourage the students to write.

- TBLT made the class situation more alive.

- TBLT could improve the teacher’s effort to make the challenging tasks to the students.

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- TBLT could reduce the teacher’s domination in writing class.

- The accuracy in writing could be achieved by giving more portions to vocabulary building and language focus.

The weaknesses:

- It took more time in the writing class.

- The discussion in group work still lack control from the teacher. - The challenge of task needs to be increased.

e. Another finding: students’ responses toward the action

At the end of Cycle 3, she delivered questionnaires to the students to find out the students’ responses toward the implementation of TBLT. The results of the questionnaires were one hundred per cent of the students agreed with learning writing through TBLT. The reasons were because TBLT was fun, interesting, and exciting. TBLT made the lesson easier to understand, and TBLT could facilitate them in learning writing. TBLT was also motivating. The activities encouraged the students to explore their ideas to write. The students were curious to join the activities so they wanted to learn more.

Dealing with the improvement of the writing ability, all students felt that the implementation of TBLT improved their writing ability. TBLT improved their vocabularies. TBLT also made them able to make a composition using correct grammar, mechanics, content, and organization. Before the implementation of TBLT the students thought that they could not write. They only wrote few words in the writing sessions because they did not have any idea. After the implementation of TBLT they thought that they could write in English. Some of the students said that writing was very easy.

All of the students felt that TBLT encouraged them to learn writing. The reasons were because TBLT was very exciting and fun. The activities were enjoyable. The students found that writing was not something difficult, therefore they were eager to do the activity. The students found that pair and group work was very enjoyable. They could share knowledge and learn from the outstanding students in the group. One point to notice was that the relax situation of TBLT really encouraged the students to write.

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For all of the students, learning writing through TBLT was not a burden. Before the implementation of TBLT, the writing activity was a big burden for the students, but now they do not feel it anymore. The enjoyment of the activities made the students completed the tasks eagerly.

Dealing with the necessity to continue applying TBLT in the writing class, one hundred per cent of the students gave their supports. They wanted to have more activities using TBLT in the future. Now, they realized that writing was not as difficult as they thought. They wanted to improve their writing ability; therefore TBLT must be applied in the future. The data showed that there was a positive response from the students toward the implementation of TBLT.

Conclusion

In this research, the researcher worked collaboratively with an English teacher in identifying the problems, determining the efforts in overcoming the problems, planning the actions, and applying Task – Based Language Teaching (TBTL) for teaching writing to Class X TKJ 1 students of SMKN 2 Sragen. The findings of the research are:

1. TBLT can improve the students’ writing ability. The improvement of students’ writing ability can be identified from the improvement of writing achievement; the students’ ability in making a composition with correct grammar, mechanics, content, and organization; and the students’ ability in expressing their ideas using appropriate vocabulary.

2. TBLT can improve writing class into a better situation. The class situation became more alive with various interesting activities, and there was a rising of students’ participation. Besides, TBLT increased teacher’s innovation in presenting the material in the class by creating worksheets and using of media in the writing class.

3. The strength of the implementation of TBLT in writing class was it could raise the students’ participation in writing class and it could enhance the students’ writing ability. However the implementation of TBLT needed some

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preparation, especially in designing the tasks which were suitable to the students’ and curriculum need and time allocation.

The results of the research showed that the teaching writing using TBLT could improve the students’ writing ability, especially for the tenth grade students of X TKJ 1 SMKN 2 Sragen.

The research finding implies that TBLT is beneficial for the students to improve their writing ability. TBLT offered the students material which they have to actively engage in the process of teaching – learning in order to achieve a goal or complete a task. It could develop the students’ ability in expressing ideas, encouraged the students to write, and made the class situation more alive.

By using TBLT, the students could make a better composition using the appropriate word choosing (vocabulary), correct grammatical patterns (syntax), using correct mechanics, using good logical developing ideas (content), and using good organization. The accuracy in writing could be achieved by giving more portions to vocabulary building and language focus. Working in group in TBLT also could increase the students’ participation in writing class to complete the tasks. The improvement of the students’ writing ability also can be seen from the improvement of students’ level of writing from cycle to cycle and the reduction of the students who did not pass the passing grade.

In conclusion, the effective steps in Task – Based Language Teaching (TBLT) to improve the students writing skill are giving some tasks to the students in working individually, in pair, or in group. Conducted on giving those tasks, there were some significant progressions made by the students. The students tend to be better in their content, organization, syntax / grammar, vocabulary, and mechanics.

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1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

A. The Background of the Research

The globalization era in Indonesia is marked by Indonesia’s participation in ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). It is clear that globalization creates competitive atmosphere in business. There are a lot of businesses and industries open many kinds of jobs, such as manufactures, public services, and others that automatically need many workers in those businesses. It is the best opportunity for the students of Vocational school to enter those labor markets, because Vocational School or Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan (SMK) offers training in carrier that gives practical expertise, provides students with the skills needed to perform a particular job, and prepares the students to be ready to enter the labor market. According to Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan

(2006: 5), the general objective of the teaching and learning in vocational schools or Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan (SMK) is preparing the students to be ready to enter job places. Therefore, the instructional process is aimed at providing the students with sufficient competences and skills used by the students in their jobs.

According to Kebijakan Pemerintah, Permen 22 - 2006 tentang kerangka dasar dan struktur kurikulum SD, SMP, SMA, SMK semua mata

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Pendidikan kejuruan bertujuan untuk meningkatkan kecerdasan, pengetahuan, kepribadian, akhlak mulia, serta keterampilan peserta didik untuk hidup mandiri dan mengikuti pendidikan lebih lanjut sesuai dengan program kejuruannya. Agar dapat bekerja secara efektif dan efisien serta mengembangkan keahlian dan keterampilan, mereka harus memiliki stamina yang tinggi, menguasai bidang keahliannya dan dasar-dasar ilmu pengetahuan dan teknologi, memiliki etos kerja yang tinggi, dan mampu berkomunikasi sesuai

dengan tuntutan pekerjaannya, serta memiliki kemampuan

mengembangkan diri. (Permen 22 – 2006: 17)

In Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan (KTSP) there are twenty two

points of the criteria for standard competence of SMK graduates (Standard

Kompetensi Lulusan). Two of the points are related to language lessons,

including English. Those points are (1) Communicating efficiency in the spoken and written form; (2) Showing appropriate skills in listening, reading, speaking, and writing (KTSP, 2006: 15). From the two points, it can be noted that the graduates of SMK should have the ability in using English as one of the primary subjects which is tested in the national examination (UAN). All the skills, namely listening, speaking, reading, and writing must be learnt by all the students, although there is no speaking and writing test in the national examination.

In the writing subject, the students should be able to produce graphemes and orthographic pattern of English; produce writing at an efficient rate of speed to suit the purpose; produce an acceptable core of words and use appropriate word order patterns; use acceptable grammatical systems (e.g., tense, agreement, plural), patterns, and rule; express a particular meaning in different grammatical forms; and use cohesive devices in written

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discourse. It means that the students should write with suitable word’s choosing, correct grammar, spelling and punctuation, control of content and good organization.

Writing is the most complex and difficult lesson among other English skills. According to Brown (2004: 218), the ability to write has become an indispensable skill in our global literate community. Martlew in Saddler (2004) states academic progress in school depends on students’ ability to write fluently. Furthermore, writing is the principal medium by which teachers evaluate performance (Christenson, Thurlow, Ysseldyke, & Mc Vicar, 1989; Graham & Harris, 1988). Unfortunately, many students struggle with the complexities of written expression (Saddler, Moran, Graham, & Harris, in press). Teachers often face the daunting task of helping students grow as writers. Teacher may feel ensure of how to nudge students up the ladder of writing ability and even not comfortable with their ability to assist students who have great difficulties with written expression. Saddler, Bruce. 2004. Improve Writing Ability; retrieved from http://www.article.htm.

The difficulties of writing are also felt by the students of vocational school. They perhaps can speak, read, and listen to English words but they do not know how to write them. It was proved by their scores of the writing test; especially free writing, which were worse than the scores of other skills. From the pre – test, questionnaire, interviews, and observations that have been done by the researcher, she found that their difficulties are in some aspects, such as finding an appropriate word suitable with the topics, using of

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appropriate tenses based on the situation, using of correct verbs (infinitive, past, and past participle), using correct spelling and punctuation, arranging a good paragraph suitable with the topic, making a good organization, and exploring their ideas. Students only wrote sentences based on the teacher’s instructions. Students’ activity was to write out grammar exercise. Writing skills were given only to give the stress on using correct tense patterns rather than understanding when the sentences were used. The students were given a short text and instructed to change all singular nouns to plural nouns or to change present tense to past tense, etc. The students were assumed to be not ready yet to create texts by themselves; they were only ready to manipulate forms. Thus, when the teacher asked the students to write a free composition, most of them had difficulties to write it. They could not write it because they never write a composition based on their own ideas and they were afraid of making mistakes. Since the focus of these types of writing exercise is primarily on grammar, students will get good grade if the texts are free from errors or have only just very few errors. Consequently, then, students write very cautiously in English. Therefore, they often avoid writing what they cannot control.

The students’ difficulties in writing are caused by three factors: the students themselves, the teacher, and the class situation.

1) The students: the students do not get sufficient writing exercises to explore their ideas, do not have self-confidence, and are afraid of making mistakes.

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2) The teacher: the teacher does not give enough exercises and suitable teaching method to support the teaching – learning process, especially in teaching writing. In the traditional way of teaching writing, the teacher is mostly concerned with the final product of writing and what the product should look like.

3) The class situation: the situation in the writing class is uncomfortable for the students so they are stressed, afraid, and strained when the teacher give them writing exercises.

For this reason, a suitable method in teaching writing should be found so that the students can explore their ideas and make good English writing. One method that is considered to be effective to apply in language classroom is Task – Based Language Teaching (TBLT). TBLT is a cutting edge language teaching approach for second language learners. It combines the latest research on language acquisition with methods to get students ability in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. TBLT is an approach which offers students material which they have to actively engage in the process of teaching – learning in order to achieve a goal or complete a task. TBLT seeks to develop students’ interlanguage through providing a task and, then, using language to solve it. Richard and Rodger (2001: 223) state that TBLT is the development of Communicative Language Teaching. TBLT refers to an approach based on the use of tasks as the core unit of planning and instruction in language teaching (Richards – Rodger, 2001: 223). Nunan (1993: 10) defines task as a piece of classroom work which involves learners in

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comprehending, manipulating, producing or interacting in the target language while their attention is principally focused on meaning rather than form. In short, TBLT is an approach which seeks to allow students to work somewhat at their own pace and within their own level and area of interest to process and restructure their interlanguage. It moves away from a prescribed developmental sequence and introduces learner freedom and autonomy into the learning process. The teacher’s role is also modified to that of helper. The TBLT will drive students to be more active in doing their writing activity. Through this method, the students are given the assignment in grammar, vocabularies, punctuation, and other relevant language elements based upon the result of the diagnosis of students’ language errors in writing. The teacher will become facilitator in the class where the students will be the center of the process teaching and learning process (in http://www.asian-efl journal.com/ profession teaching articles.com)

In Task – Based Language Teaching, the teacher has a lot of opportunities to develop various activities. The teacher can use writing tasks with fun activities and familiar topics to the students, for examples describing students’ special person, their home town, their hobbies, their daily activities, their childhood, etc. They can explore their ideas freely and use their own words without worrying about mistakes in using tenses, grammar, spelling, punctuation, content, organization, and appropriate words. When they practice to write continually and complete their tasks they can build their vocabularies; get correct tenses, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and

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appropriate words; be able to make a good organization in writing; and keep logical development of ideas with the content. In the last period of teaching using TBLT the teacher explains the use of those correct aspects of writing. Familiarity of the topic and enjoyment in conducting the task are the solution of the students’ difficulties in writing.

Task Based Language Teaching (TBLT) offers the material for the students which they have to actively engage in the process of teaching – learning in order to achieve a goal or complete a task. A task is a piece of class work which involves learners in comprehending, manipulating, producing, or interacting in the target language, focuses on meaning rather than form with the purpose of facilitating language learner in the form of simple and brief exercise type to more complex situation, and is usually resemble to the real – life language use. The effective steps in Task – Based Language Teaching (TBLT) namely pre – task, task phase, and language focus are very effective to improve the students’ writing ability. Conducted on giving those tasks, there were some significant progressions were made by the students. The students tend to be better in their content, organization, syntax / grammar, vocabulary, and mechanics.

Pre – task phase introduces the topic and task for the students and activates the students to find related words and phrases which are suitable to the topic. In the pre-task, the teacher presents what will be expected of the students in the task phase. These will be presented the suggestions and motivations, so the students would be encouraged to use language that they

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are comfortable with in order to complete the task. The instructors may also present a model of the task by doing it by themselves or by presenting picture, audio, or video to demonstrate the task.

The task – cycle offers the chance to learners to use whatever language they already know in order to carry out the task, and then to improve that language under teacher’s guidance, while are planning their reports of the task.

The language focus allows a closer study of some of the specific features naturally occurring in the language used during the task cycle. By this point, the learners will have already worked with the language and processed it for meaning, so they are ready to focus on the specific language forms that carry that meaning.

Based on the background above, the researcher believes that Task Based Language Teaching (TBLT) is an effective solution to overcome the problems of students’ writing ability.

B. Limitation of the Problem

This research focuses on the implementation of Task – Based Language Teaching (TBLT) to overcome difficulties of the students in writing ability. The writing ability in this research is limited to writing a descriptive text for vocational school students.

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C. Problem Statement

Based on the background above, the problems of this research are:

1. Can Task Based Language Teaching (TBLT) improve writing ability of the students of Class X TKJ 1 SMKN 2 Sragen in the 2010/2011 Academic year?

2. What are the strengths and the weaknesses of the implementation of Task Based Language Teaching (TBLT) in improving writing ability of the students of Class X TKJ 1 SMKN 2 Sragen in the 2010/2011 Academic year?

D. The Objectives of the Research The objectives of the research are:

1. To find out whether the uses of Task – Based Language Teaching (TBLT) can improve writing ability of the students of Class X TKJ 1 SMKN 2 Sragen in the 2010/2011 Academic year.

2. To identify the strengths and the weaknesses of the implementation of Task – Based Language Teaching (TBLT) in improving writing ability of the students of Class X TKJ 1 SMKN 2 Sragen in the 2010/2011 Academic year.

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E. The Benefits of the Research The research is beneficial for: 1. For the researcher.

The result of this research can be used as a starting point in improving the teaching and learning activity in the classroom.

2. For the students.

The result of this research will improve students’ writing ability. 3. For English teachers.

The result of this research can give an alternative for choosing a suitable classroom technique in teaching English, especially in teaching writing for SMK students.

4. For other researchers.

The result of this research can be used as a reference by others who conduct further research about teaching and learning English, especially in the issue of teaching writing and Task – Based Language Teaching (TBLT).

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11 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

A. Description of Related Literature. 1. Writing

a. The Nature of Writing

Many definitions of writing are proposed by many language education practitioners. Byrne (1997: 1) states that writing is the acts of forming symbols, letter or combination of letters, which relate to the sound when we speak, making marks on a flat surface of some kind, arrange according to certain conventions to form words and word arranged to form sentences.

Daniels in Ager (2008: 1) defines that writing is used to represent or express the ideas or feelings in such a way that it can be recovered more completely of a system of more or less permanent symbols.

Bell and Burnbay in Nunan (1998: 36) point out that writing is a complex cognitive activity in which the writer is demanded to demonstrate control of a number of variables simultaneously at the sentence level-include control of content, spelling, and letter formation-and beyond the sentence structure formation-and integrate information into cohesive and coherent paragraph and text.

According to Malay (1988: 5), writing requires a number of things: a high degree of organization in the development of ideas and

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information; a high degree of accuracy so that there is no ambiguity of meaning; the use of complex grammatical devices for focus and emphasis; and a careful choice of vocabulary, grammatical patterns, and sentence structures to create a style which is appropriate to the subject matter and the eventual readers.

Madson (1983: 10) says that there are great numbers of factors (in testing writing) that can be evaluated: mechanics, (including spelling and punctuation), vocabulary, grammar, appropriate content, diction (or word selection), rhetorical matters of various kinds (organization, cohesion, unity; appropriateness to the audience, topic, and occasion).

According to Harris (1969: 56) there are five components which can be used to evaluate writing. They are: contents, grammar, word choice, organization, and mechanics.

Raimes (1983: 4) states that writing is a means of communication between reader and writer. There are many components which have to be considered first when people start to write. Those components are:

1) The aim of writing

2) The idea which will be expressed 3) The understanding about a reader 4) Writing process

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6) Syntax 7) Word choice

8) Technique of writing 9) Organization

Brown (2001: 348) states that prewriting, drafting, and revising take place throughout the process of writing. Prewriting includes generating ideas, focusing, and structuring. The writing activity starts from drafting. It is concerned with how ideas can be led to a conclusion with a sense of completion. Evaluation deals with the cultivation of a sense of responsibility for being critical to the writing. Lastly, reviewing aims at developing critical capacities and enriching the repertoire of linguistic resources for writing.

Silvia (1990: 15) says that teacher’s role is to help students develop viable strategies for getting started (finding topics, generating ideas and information, focusing, and planning structure and procedure), for drafting (encouraging multiple drafts), for revising (adding, deleting, modifying, and rearranging ideas) and for editing (attending to vocabulary, sentence structure, grammar and mechanics).

According to Arthur Brookes and Peter Grundy (1991: 7 – 8), there are many processes that are involved in writing, those are:

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a. Deciding what to say, thinking about starting, thinking who we are writing for, thinking about our aim in writing this particular piece, thinking about the way it should be set out on the page. b. Deciding on the order in which we put our ideas, deciding on

paragraphing and sub – headings, giving it the title.

c. Making sure we have the script right (the right font if word – processing).

d. Deciding where to put capitals, underlining, italics, quotation marks and other punctuation.

e. Using correct spelling, choosing words to convey meaning, finding the best word, most suited to the context.

f. Writing a grammatical sentence, writing a fluent sentence that reads well.

g. Reading what we have written to see if it reads well, reading with another reader in mind.

h. Deleting, adding, or changing the text to suit the reader, proof – reading for small mechanical mistakes e.g. spelling.

i. Making sufficient interesting points, illustrating our points to add interest and help understanding

j. Referring to the ideas of others. b. Writing Skills

Writing is complex cognitive skill. Writing skill is an ability to express the idea, opinion or feeling in the written form beginning

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from the simplest one to the advanced level on a certain medium consistency over period of time. It is one of language skills which are considered important, because it is one of means for communication with other people in addition to listening, speaking, and reading.

Heaton (1998: 23) states that the complexity of writing activity is shown by many skills related in that activity including grammatical skill, stylistic skill, mechanic skill, and decision skill. Keraf (1998: 144) says that the language is a primary communication medium for human, to express their idea or feeling to another people as well as understand the idea or feeling of other. Vocabulary mastery and grammatical structure are requirement to write a valuable text.

According to Brown (2004: 221) there are two categories of writing skills. They are micro and macro skills. Micro skills and macro skills assist us in defining the ultimate criterion of an assessment procedure. Micro skills of writing are appropriately applied to imitative and intensive types of writing task, while macro skills writing are essential for the successful mastery of responsive and extensive writing.

1) Micro skills

a) produce graphemes and orthographic pattern of English

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c) Produce an acceptable core of words and use appropriate word order patterns

d) Use acceptable grammatical systems (e.g., tense, agreement, plural), patterns, and rule.

e) Express a particular meaning in different grammatical forms f) Use cohesive devices in written discourse.

2) Macro skills

a) The rhetorical forms and convention of written discourse. b) Appropriately accomplish the communicative functions of

written texts according to form and purpose

c) Convey links and connections between events, and communicate such relation as main idea, supporting idea, new information, given information, generalization, and examplication

d) Distinguish between culturally specific references in the context of the written text

e) Develop and use a battery of writing strategies, such as accurately assessing the audience’s interpretation, using paragraphs and synonyms, soliciting peer and instructor feedback, and using feedback for revising and editing

From those descriptions, it can be inferred that writing is the acts of forming symbols, letter or combination of letters, which are related to the sounds of speaking; making marks on a flat surface of

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some kind; arranging them according to certain conventions to form words and arranging words to form sentences that are used to represent or express ideas or feelings. In this case, students are able to produce writing with the high degree of organization in the development of ideas and information; the control of content; the use of complex grammatical devices for focus and emphasis (syntax); the correct spelling, punctuation, and capitalization (mechanics); and the careful choice of words (vocabulary).

c. Teaching Writing

Writing in real life is usually undertaken in response to a demand of some kind. For adults, the demand may arise from academic studies, professional responsibilities, from such social roles as friend, purchaser, enquirer, complainant, or counselor. Students may have any of these present or possible future purposes for writing in English. But in every case there is a real audience to whom a message must be communicated.

Hedge (1998: 61) states that writing in the English – language classroom can become unreal if it is only ever produced for one reader, the teacher, and if it its purpose is limited to enabling the teacher to assess the correctness of the linguistic forms used. Hedge also states that one of the tasks for a teacher of writing is helping students as writers to become aware of their readers and to develop a sense of audience, especially with teenagers who may not have developed this sense in writing their first language. It is not easy to

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formulate meaningful writing tasks which will be read by someone other than the teacher, but the teacher can actually become an audience in a writer – reader relationship involving response rather than assessment.

The most important factor in writing exercises is that students need to be personally involved in order to make the learning experience of lasting value. Encouraging student participation in the exercise, while at the same time refining and expanding writing skills, requires a certain pragmatic approach. The teacher should be clear on what skills he/she is trying to develop. Next, the teacher needs to decide on which means (or type of exercise) can facilitate learning of the target area. Once the target skill areas and means of implementation are defined, the teacher can then proceed to focus on what topic can be employed to ensure student participation. By pragmatically combing these objectives, the teacher can expect both enthusiasm and effective learning (Beare, Teaching Writing Skills; retrieved from http://www.about.com.)

Choosing the target area depends on many factors, those are: 1. What level are the students?

2. What is the average age of the students? 3. Why are the students learning English?

4. Are there any specific future intentions for the writing (i.e. school tests or job application letters etc.)?

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5. What should the students be able to produce at the end of this exercise (a well written letter, basic communication of ideas, etc.)?

6. What is the focus of the exercise (structure, tense usage, creative writing)?

Once these factors are clear in the mind of the teacher, the teacher can begin to focus on how to involve the students in the activity thus promoting a positive, long-term learning experience. Having decided on the target area, the teacher can focus on the means to achieve this type of learning. As in correction, the teacher must choose the most appropriate manner for the specified writing area. If formal business letter English is required, it is of little use to employ a free expression type of exercise. Likewise, when working on descriptive language writing skills, a formal letter is equally out of place.

With both the target area and means of production clear in the teachers mind, the teacher can begin to consider how to involve the students by considering what type of activities are interesting to the students; Are they preparing for something specific such as a holiday or test?, Will they need any of the skills pragmatically? What has been effective in the past? A good way to approach this is by class feedback, or brainstorming sessions. By choosing a topic that involves the students the teacher is providing a context within which

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effective learning on the target area can be undertaken. Finally, the question of which type of correction will facilitate a useful writing exercise is of utmost importance. Here the teacher needs to once again think about the overall target area of the exercise. If there is an immediate task at hand, such as taking a test, perhaps teacher guided correction is the most effective solution. However, if the task is more general (for example developing informal letter writing skills), maybe the best approach would be to have the students work in groups thereby learning from each other. Most importantly, by choosing the correct means of correction the teacher can encourage rather discourage students. (Kenneth, Beare. Teaching Writing Skills; retrieved from http://www.about.com.

d. Types of Writing

There are several factual written genres. Some of them are description, recount, report, procedure, explanation, exposition, and discussion. Following are the generic structure and significant language features of those genres.

a. Description genre

Social function: to describe people, things, place, and animals specifically.

Generic (schematic) structure: identification, description (give information about feature of objects).

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Language features: specific nouns (e.g. father, school, my dog, etc.), simple present tense, detailed noun phrase, adjective (about describing, numbering, classifying), relational process, figurative language.

b. Recount genre

Social function: to retell events for the purpose of informing or entertaining. Events are usually arranged in a temporal sequence, e.g. a personal letter.

Generic (Schematic) structure: orientation, events, re-orientation (optional element).

Language features: focus on individual participants, use of past tense, focus on a temporal sequence of events, use of material (or action) clauses and processes.

c. Report genre

Social function: factual text which describes the way things are, with reference to a whole range of phenomena, natural, cultural, and social in our environment.

Generic (Schematic) structure: general classification (can include optional technical classification), description (parts and their functions, qualities, habits / behaviors or ‘uses’ if non-natural.

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Language features: focus on generic patricipants (group of things), use of simple present tense (unless extinct), no temporal sequence, use of ‘being’ and ‘having’ clause.

d. Procedure genre

Social function: factual text designed to describe how something is accomplished through a sequence of actions or steps.

Generic (schematic) structure: goal, steps 1 – n (ie. Goal followed by a series of steps oriented to achieving the goal) Language features: focus on generalized human agents, use of simple present tense (plus sometimes imperative), use of mainly temporal conjunctive relations, use of mainly material (action) clauses.

e. Explanation genre

Social function: factual text used to explain the processes involved in the evolution of natural and social phenomena or how something works. Explanations are used to account for why things are as they are. Explanations are more about processes than things. In the school curriculum, explanations are often found in science and social studies.

Generic (schematic) structure: a general statement to position the reader, then sequenced explanation of why / how something occurs (usually a series of logical steps in the process).

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Language features: focus on generic (non – human participants), use of simple present tense, use of temporal and clausal conjunctive relations, use of mainly material (action) processes, some passives used to get theme right. The theme is what comes first in the clause and is what the clause (or message) is about. f. Exposition genre

Social function: factual text used to put forward a point of view, or argument, e.g. essay, letter to the editor (logical rather than temporal sequencing).

Generic (schematic) structure: thesis, arguments, reiteration (restatement of thesis).

Language features: focus on generic human and non – human participants, use of simple present tense, few temporal conjunctive relations (mostly logical relations), use of material, relational and mental processes.

g. Discussion genre

Social function: to present information about and arguments for both sides of a topical issue, concluding with a recommendation based on the weight of evidence. Discussions are commonly used by Royal Commissions, local Councils and School bodies to look at two sides of an issue.

Generic (schematic) structure: issue, arguments for and against, statements of various viewpoints, recommendation.

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Language features: focus on generic human and non – human participants, use of simple present tense, use of logical conjunctive relations, use of material, relational and mental processes.

e. Writing Evaluation

Maley (1988: 161) states that one useful approach to evaluation is to borrow a notion from the field of testing, validity, and apply it to materials; firstly, there is the question of internal validity. This means evaluating a task in relation to its immediate and discernible aims and within the overall objectives of the textbook or set of learning materials.

a. Aspects of writing skills

Harris (1969: 56) states that there are five components which can be used to evaluate writing. They are: contents, grammar, word choice, organization, and mechanics.

According to Brown, 2001: 357), there are six categories or aspects of writing evaluation, those are:

The writing skill for Content: topic is defined and explained clearly, information which is made related to the topic; it gives enough information, supports main ideas and opinions. Organization: effectiveness of introduction, development, and conclusion; logical sequence of ideas, appropriate length.

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Discourse: topic sentences, paragraph unity, cohesion, rhetorical convention, reference, fluency, variation. Syntax: arranged words. Vocabulary: word choice, precise language, strong verbs, specific, concrete nouns. Mechanics: spelling, punctuation, citation of references of applicable, neatness and appearance. b. Indicators of writing skill

The indicators of writing skill are as follows:

a) The pupils are able to produce writing with the high degree of organization in the development of ideas and information.

b) The pupils are able to produce writing with the control of content.

c) The pupils are able to use the complex grammatical devices for focus and emphasis (syntax).

d) The pupils are able to use correct spelling, punctuation, and capitalization (mechanics).

e) The pupils are able to use careful choice of words (vocabulary).

2. Improving Writing Ability

Improving has several meanings. This verb means to advance to a more desirable, valuable, or excellent state. In Dictionary of English language, fourth edition, the meanings of improving are:

1. to bring into a more desirable or excellent condition, for example: He took vitamins to improve his health.

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2. to make (land) more useful, profitable, or valuable by enclosure, cultivation, etc.

3. to increase the value of (real property) by betterments, as the construction of buildings and sewers.

4. to make good use of; turn to account, for example He improved the stopover by seeing a client with offices there.

5. to increase in value, excellence, etc.; become better, for example The military situation is younger violinists have been able to improve on his interpretation of that work. http://www.freedictionary.htm.

Malay states that improving in writing consists of several activities, those are marking (traditionally regarded as the responsibility of the teacher), redrafting (the process that good writers go through as they evaluate, rethink, and rewrite parts of their texts), and editing at the post – writing stage, which involves checking for accuracy and making the final revisions (Malay: 1988: 145).

From the description above, it can be concluded that the term improving in this study refers to the way to make something better than before. In this case, improving students’ writing ability means finding the ways and making efforts to make students’ writing ability better than before. Teachers and learners work together to improve the clarity and quality of writing. In the process of improving, the teacher involves students in revising and editing their own work so that the activity becomes part of the writing process and a genuine source of learning for

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both students and teachers. The researcher used Task Based Language Teaching to improve students’ writing ability.

B. Task – Based Language Teaching

1. The Nature of Task – Based Language Teaching

Task-based language learning (TBLL), also known as Task-based language teaching (TBLT) or Task-based instruction (TBI) is a method of instruction in the field of language acquisition. It focuses on the use of authentic language to students in doing meaningful tasks using the target language; for example, visiting the doctor, conducting an interview, or calling customer services for help. Assessment is primarily based on task outcome (ie: the appropriate completion of tasks) rather than on accuracy of language forms. This makes TBLT especially popular for developing target language fluency and student confidence; retrieved from http://www.wikipedia,the free encyclopedia.htm.

Task Based Language Teaching (TBLT) is an approach which offers students material which they have to actively engage in the process of teaching – learning in order to achieve a goal or complete a task. Much like regular tasks that people perform everyday such as making the tea, writing an essay, talking to someone on the phone, TBLT seeks to develop students’ interlanguage through providing a task and then using language to solve it (Skehan, 1998: A Cognitive Approach to Language Learning, retrieved from http://www.tbtl.htm.)

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language. Richard and Rodger (2000: 229) support this idea by stating that task is said to improve students’ motivation and therefore promote learning.

Furthermore, Littlewood (1981: 17) states that task can improve motivation because task can fulfill the ultimate objective of the students, in this case to use the target language in the writing form. Students’ participation is improved because the students find that the classroom learning is related to this objective and help them to achieve this objective with increasing success.

c. The strengths of implementation of TBLT.

1) Task – Based Language Teaching (TBLT) can reduce teacher’s

domination in writing class.

The findings showed that during the implementation of TBLT, teacher domination in the writing class was decreased. Bukart (2006: 96) argues that TBLT is advantageous because it is more students – centered. Dealing with the phases of conducting TBLT; at first teacher may present the language in pre – task, but later the students are free to use what language they want and they have. This allows the students to use all languages they know and in this case, they are really in the process of learning.

The learner – centeredness in TBLT is underlined by Willis (1996: 40). He states that the most emphasis of TBLT is on learners

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doing things, often in pairs or groups; using language to achieve the task outcomes and guided by the teacher.

2) Task – Based Language Teaching (TBLT) provides bigger

chances for writing practice.

Another finding showed that TBLT provided bigger chances for the students to write. Before the research, the writing class lack of time for writing practice. During the implementation of TBLT there was bigger opportunity for the students to write in the target language. This finding is in line with Larsen and Freeman (2000: 144) who states that TBLT can provide the students a natural context for language use in abundant opportunities to interact in target language, and such interaction can facilitate learning.

Dealing with this, the research findings showed that the use of group work optimized the writing opportunity in exploring ideas. Before the implementation of TBLT, the students did the writing task with limited vocabularies and made many mistakes in writing aspects. During the implementation of TBLT by doing the tasks in pair and group work, the situation was changed. The pair and group work provided the chances for the students to work together with their friends, improve their vocabularies, and share their difficulties.

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150 CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION, IMPLICATION, AND SUGGESTION

A. Conclusion

In this research, the researcher worked collaboratively with an English teacher in identifying the problems, determining the efforts in overcoming the problems, planning the actions, and applying Task – Based Language Teaching (TBTL) for teaching writing to Class X TKJ 1 students of SMKN 2 Sragen. The findings of the research are:

1. TBLT can improve the students’ writing ability. The improvement of

students’ writing ability can be identified from the improvement of writing achievement; the students’ ability in making a composition with correct grammar, mechanics, content, and organization; and the students’ ability in expressing their ideas using appropriate vocabulary.

2. TBLT can improve writing class into a better situation. The class situation

became more alive with various interesting activities, and there was a rising of students’ participation. Besides, TBLT increased teacher’s innovation in presenting the material in the class by creating worksheets and using of media in the writing class.

3. The strength of the implementation of TBLT in writing class was it could

raise the students’ participation in writing class and it could enhance the students’ writing ability. However the implementation of TBLT needed some

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preparation, especially in designing the tasks which were suitable to the students’ and curriculum need and time allocation.

The results of the research showed that the teaching writing using TBLT could improve the students’ writing ability, especially for the tenth grade students of X TKJ 1 SMKN 2 Sragen.

B. Implication

The research finding implies that TBLT is beneficial for the students to improve their writing ability. TBLT offered the students material which they have to actively engage in the process of teaching – learning in order to achieve a goal or complete a task. It could develop the students’ ability in expressing ideas, encouraged the students to write, and made the class situation more alive.

By using TBLT, the students could make a better composition using the appropriate word choosing (vocabulary), correct grammatical patterns (syntax), using correct mechanics, using good logical developing ideas (content), and using good organization. The accuracy in writing could be achieved by giving more portions to vocabulary building and language focus. Working in group in TBLT also could increase the students’ participation in writing class to complete the tasks. The improvement of the students’ writing ability also can be seen from the improvement of students’ level of writing from cycle to cycle and the reduction of the students who did not pass the passing grade.

In conclusion, the effective steps in Task – Based Language Teaching (TBLT) to improve the students writing skill are giving some tasks to the students in working individually, in pair, or in group. Conducted on giving those tasks,

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there were some significant progressions made by the students. The students tend to be better in their content, organization, syntax / grammar, vocabulary, and mechanics.

C. Suggestion

Related to the result of the actions, there are some suggestions:

1. To the academic institution.

There is a need in the classroom activities to provide more opportunities to have writing task because it will encourage the students to write. It needs more opportunities to make the students improve their writing skill. Considering the potential of TBLT in enhancing students’ skills in English, it is necessary for the teacher to learn about TBLT, so the schools can facilitate this by conducting workshops on TBLT.

2. To the English teacher.

This study can be used as a reference for the English teacher in improving the teaching quality by applying the suitable technique toward improving the students’ writing ability. Besides, the teacher can apply TBLT in the class of listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

The research findings are expected to give insight to the English teaching writing. In the field, there are many difficulties faced by the students, therefore the English teacher is hoped to be able to give the suitable approaches in teaching writing. Giving homework is one of the efforts to motivate to practice writing English. The English teacher should know the students inadequacy. English teacher should give sufficient vocabulary to solve the

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students’ lack of vocabulary. In grammar, teacher can focus on language focus. The correct mechanics, content, and organization can be achieved by giving more chances to the students to write. The teacher should be able to develop the teaching learning materials that as have been provided in the curriculum.

3. To the students

The students of SMKN 2 Sragen may apply many efforts in order to be good in writing English. The researcher hopes that these research findings can be used as a reference for the students to gain their writing skill. By understanding the research’s result, the students will know how to improve their writing skill. Thus, the students can motivate themselves to get a better achievement in writing.

4. To other researchers

Finally, this research is expected to be useful to other researchers particularly those who are interested in conducting a similar research by giving more challenging task.