ENRICHING VOCABULARY MASTERY USING SHORT TEXTS A Classroom Action Research in the Second Year of SMP N 5 Sukoharjo in the Academic Year of 2009/2010
Written by: Risqi Ekanti Ayuningtyas Palupi K2206029
Submitted to Teacher Training and Education Faculty of Sebelas Maret University Univers ity as Partial Fulfilm Fulfilment ent of o f the Requirement for the Undergraduate Degree of Education
TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION FACULTY SEBELAS MARET UNIVERSITY SURAKARTA 2010 i
APPROVAL
This thesis is approved by the consultants to be examined by the Board of Examiners of Teacher Training and Education Faculty of Sebelas Maret University.
Approved by
Consultant 1
Consultant 2
Dr. Abdul Asib, M.Pd.
Teguh Sarosa, S.S., M.Hum. M.Hu m.
NIP. 19520307 198003 1 005
NIP. 19730205 200604 1 001
ii
APPROVAL
This thesis is approved by the consultants to be examined by the Board of Examiners of Teacher Training and Education Faculty of Sebelas Maret University.
Approved by
Consultant 1
Consultant 2
Dr. Abdul Asib, M.Pd.
Teguh Sarosa, S.S., M.Hum. M.Hu m.
NIP. 19520307 198003 1 005
NIP. 19730205 200604 1 001
ii
This thesis is examined by the Board of Examiners of Teacher Training and Education Faculty of Sebelas Maret University and accepted as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for achieving the Undergraduate Degree of Education in English. Place of the test
:
Date of the test
:
The Board of Examiners 1. Chairman (………………………)
Drs. Suparno, M. Pd NIP. 19511127 198601 1 001 2. Secretary
(………………………)
Dewi Sri Wahyuni, M.Pd. NIP. 19780818 200312 2 002 3. Consultant 1
(……………………....)
Dr. Abdul Asib, M.Pd. NIP. 19520307 198003 1 005 4. Consultant 2
(………………………)
Teguh Sarosa, S.S., M.Hum. NIP 19730205 200604 1 001
Legalized by, Teacher Training and Education Faculty Sebelas Maret University The Dean
Prof. Dr. M. Furqon Hidayatullah, M.Pd NIP. 19600727 198702 1 001
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ABSTRACT
Risqi Ekanti Ayuningtyas Palupi. K2206029: ENRICHING VOCABULARY MASTERY USING SHORT TEXTS (A Classroom Action Research in the Second Year of SMP N 5 Sukoharjo in the Academic Year of 2009/2010 ).” Teacher Training and Education Faculty, Sebelas Maret University, Surakarta 2010. “
This study is based on the problem of the low vocabulary mastery of the second year students of SMP N 5 Sukoharjo in the academic year of 2009/2010. It is aimed at knowing whether using short texts can enrich the students’ vocabulary. It is also aimed at the improvement of the students’ achievement in teaching learning process using short stories. The materials used in this research were short text. The procedure of the research consisted of identifying the problems, planning the action, implementing the action, observing or monitoring the action, reflecting the result of the observation, and research findings. The research was conducted in one cycle. The cycle consisted of four meetings. The techniques in collecting the data were qualitative and quantitative method. In the qualitative method, the researcher used observations, field notes, photographs, and document analysis. The results of the observation were in the form of field notes and photographs. In the quantitative method, the researcher used tests. The test consisted of the pre-test and post-test. The technique to analyze the test result was by comparing the mean score of pre-test and post-test. Besides that, this research also used descriptive statistics and the t-test of non-independent. The results of this research show that short texts can improve the students’ vocabulary mastery. The improvement can be seen in the form of students’ achievements. They can be seen from the aspects of vocabulary mastery and the students’ motivation. First, from the aspect of the vocabulary mastery, the students could understand, grasp, remember, pronounce, write about 75 until 80 % of the words correctly and also use the words in context appropriately. Then, the improvement of students’ score can be seen from the differences between the pre-test and post-test. The mean score of the pre-test improves from 4.07 to 7.36 in post-test. Then, the scores of the pre-test and post-test show that there is also an improvement of students who achieve the minimum standard score, that is 60. They are from 2.8% to 94.3% of students. Second, from the students’ motivation, the students are more active and enthusiastic during teaching learning process. Next, they have more concentration to do the exercises. Then, they do not do something useless during teaching learning process. At last, they also like having discussion with their friends. The results of this research imply that using short texts are good material to improve students’ vocabulary mastery and also improve students’ learning activity during teaching learning process. The short texts made the students easier in understanding the form and the meaning of the words. Through short texts, students
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were also encouraged to practice their ability in reading, writing and pronouncing correctly.
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MOTTO “Mantapkan hati dan niat seraya berucap Bismillahirrahmanirrahim” Bismillahirrahmanirrahim”
"No pain, no palm; no thorns, no throne; no gall, no glory; no cross, no crown." (William Penn)
"Criticism should not be querulous and wasting, all knife and rootpuller, but guiding, instructive, inspiring." (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
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DEDICATION
With deep profound love, this research is devoted to: 1. Her beloved father and mother, thank you. Nothing compares to what they have done for her. 2. Her beloved “eyang uti” and sisters “dek sha”, sha”, who always pray and encourage her. 3. Her best friends “pam, sopal, dee, lucy, jhono, anggit, riph, tika” tika ” who give her unbroken support, prayer, and cares. 4. Her all friends, who always support her. 5. Herself and her beautiful future.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Alhamdulillahirabbil’alamin. Praise be to ALLAH SWT who has given His blessing to the writer so that she can complete the writing of this thesis as a partial requirement for achieving the undergraduate degree of education in English Teacher Training and Education Faculty of Sebelas Maret University. The writer is also fully aware that her thesis can never be finished without the help of others during the process of writing. Therefore, in this occasion she would like to express her deepest gratitude and appreciation to the following: 1.
The Dean of Teacher Training and Education Faculty of Sebelas Maret University who had given his permission to write this thesis.
2.
The Head of the English Department of Teacher Training and Education Faculty for his advice.
3.
Dr. Abdul Asib, M.Pd., the first consultant, for all his valuable guidance, advice, encouragement, and patience during the writing process of this thesis.
4.
Teguh Sarosa, S.S., M. Hum., the second consultant and academic consultant, for all his valuable guidance, advice, encouragement, and patience during the writing process of this thesis.
5.
The Headmaster of SMP N 5 Sukoharjo for the permission and advices for doing the research in SMP N 5 Sukoharjo.
6.
Mrs. Sugiyati, the English teacher of SMP N 5 Sukoharjo, who helped and given her a chance to do the research. viii
7.
The second year students of SMP N 5 Sukoharjo who participated well in the research.
8.
Her beloved family, her father, her mother, her grandmother, her sister, for their supports, caring, and prayer.
9.
Her “best friends”, Pamrih, Riana, Anggi, Dewi, Lucy, Ariph and Atika for their supports and suggestions.
10.
Her incredible support, Yoyok Sandi Wibowo, Didit Hermawan, Muthya, and Aji, for his motivation to make the writer keep move on.
11.
Her friends in the English Department of the year 2006 for their everlasting friendship.
12.
Everyone who helped the writer to conduct the research for his or her participation in writing this thesis. The researcher realizes that this thesis is still far from being perfect. She
hopes and accepts gratefully every comment and suggestion. Hopefully, this thesis will be useful for the readers.
Surakarta, June, 2010
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Rea
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TABLE OF CONTENT
TITLE PAGE ...................................................... ............................................ .................... i APPROVAL........................................................................................................................ ii ABSTRACT ........................................................................................ ................................ iv MOTTO............................................................................................................................... v DEDICATION .................................................................................. .................................. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .................................................................................................. vii TABLE OF CONTENT ............................................ .................................................. ........ ix LIST OF APPENDIXES........................................... .................................................. ........ xiii LIST OF TABLE ..................................... .................................................. ......................... xiv LIST OF FIGURE ............................................. .................................................. ................ xv CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION .......................................... ........................................... 1 A. Background of the Study ..................................................................... 1 B. The Limitation of the Problem ............................................................ 6 C. The Problems Statement ............................................ .......................... 6 D. The Objectives of the Research ................................................. .......... 7 E. The Benefits of the Study .................................................................... 7
CHAPTER II
REVIEW ON RELATED LITERATURE, RATIONALE AND HYPHOTHESIS ............................................... ......................................... 9 A. Review on Related Literature ........................................... ................... 9 1. General Concept of Vocabulary .................................................... 9 a. Notion of Vocabulary ........................................... ................... 9 b. The Importance of Vocabulary .............................................. .. 10 c. Vocabulary Mastery ................................ ................................ 11 d. The Way How to Improve Vocabulary Mastery ..................... 13 e. The Construct of Vocabulary Mastery ................................ .... 19
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2. Essences of Short Text .......................................... .......................... 23 a. The Concept of Text ............................................. ................... 23 b. The Concept of Story ............................................ ................... 24 c. The Notion of Folktales ................................................. .......... 25 3. The General Concept of Young Learners ....................................... 28 a. The Notion of Young Learners .............................................. .. 28 b. The Characteristic of Children .............................................. .. 28 4. The Notion of Motivation ............................................................... 30 a. The Definition of Motivation .................................................. 30 b. The Types of Motivation ......................................................... 31 c. The Characteristic of Motivated Students ............................... 32 B. Rationale .................................................................................... .......... 33 C. Hypothesis ................................................................ ........................... 34 CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .............................................................. 35 A. Setting and Subject of the Research .................................................. .. 35 B. Method of the Research ............................................. .......................... 36 C. The Model of Action Research .................................................. .......... 37 D. The Procedures of Action research........................................... ........... 39 E. Technique of Collecting Data .............................................................. 41 F. Technique of Data Analysis .................................... ............................ 44 G. Validity of the Instrument............................................................ ........ 45 H. Reliability of the Instrument ............................................. ................... 45 I.
The Criteria of Successful Action ................................ ....................... 46
CHAPTER IV RESEARCH FINDING AND DISCUSSION ........................................... 47 A. Introduction ................................................ ......................................... 47 B. The Description of the Research ......................................................... 49 1. Planning the Action ............................................... .......................... 50 2. Research Implementation ............................................. ................... 51 3. Observing and Monitoring the Action ............................................ 66 xi
4. Reflecting the Result of the Observation ........................................ 69 5. Research Finding................................................................. ............ 72 C. Discussion ................................................... ......................................... 74 CHAPTER V CONCLUSION, IMPLICATION, SUGGESTION .................................. 77 A. Conclusion ........................................ ................................................... 77 B. Implication ........................................................................................... 79 C. Suggestion .................................................. ......................................... 80 1. English Teacher................................ ............................................. .. 80 2. Students ................................................................................. .......... 81 3. Other Researcher ........................................... .................................. 81 4. School.............................................................................................. 81 BYBLIOGRAPHY
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LIST OF APPENDIXES
Appendix 1
: Description of location SMP N 5 Sukoharjo ............................... 82
Appendix 2
: The Photographs ............................................... ........................... 85
Appendix 3
: Lesson Plans ........................................... ..................................... 90
Appendix 4
: Students’ Worksheet................................................ .................... 102
Appendix 5
: Field Notes ................................................ ................................... 118
Appendix 6 : Blue Print of Vocabulary Test .................................................. ... 144 Appendix 7
: Pre and Post Test Items ........................................... .................... 145
Appendix 8 : Key Answer of the Test ........................................... .................... 148 Appendix 9 : The Research Schedule............................................ .................... 149 Appendix 10 : Syllabus of KTSP ............................................................. ........... 150 Appendix 11 : Students Score before the Action ................................................ 153 Appendix 12 : The Students’ Pre-test and Post Test Score ................................. 155 Appendix 13 : The Computation of Validity and Reliability .............................. 157 Appendix 14 : The Computation of T-Test ............................................. ............ 159 Appendix 15 : The Students’ Test and Worksheet done by the Students ........... 160 Appendix 16 : Key Answer of Worksheet ....................................................... ... 236 Appendix 17 : Letters of Permission ............................................... .................... 244
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LIST OF TABLE
Table 1
: The Steps in Action Research.................................................................... 43
Table 2
: Improvement of the Students’ Achievement in Teaching Learning Process Using Short Texts ............................................. ........................... 70
xiv
LIST OF FIGURE
Figure 1. An Illustration of Action Research Spiral ................................................. 38
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1
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
Mastering of a foreign language is one of the important things that is needed in modern society and globalization era. It is because language is one of instruments which has important functions in communication. The importance can be seen from some sides of life, for example is job requirement, one of the requirements is language competence, both of in spoken and written form. Then, there are many education books that are written in foreign languages. So, it can be said that mastering foreign language is very important for surviving life. As it is known, there are so many kinds of foreign language. English is one of the important foreign languages. It has been discussed before that foreign language has many functions, so does English. It has a function as a bridge for all aspects of human life, such as trade, communication, education, science, technology, society, and culture. In education, English is one of the native languages used to improve students‟ ability. As quoted in Undang-Undang Sisdiknas (2003: 15) “bahasa asing dapat digunakan sebagai bahasa pengantar pada satuan pendidikan tertentu untuk mendukung kemampuan berbahasa asing peserta didik ”. That is the most important reason why English is learned in
school.
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Actually, teaching English at junior high school is extremely important because it is still the basis for the higher level. Brewster, Ellis, and Girard (1992: 23-24) define some reasons for starting to learn a foreign language earlier. First, teaching English to young learner is aimed to increase the total number of years spent learning language. Second, the indisputable fact those young learners have a greater facility for understanding and imitating what they hear than adult. Third, the aim of early foreign language learning is to prepare young learner linguistically, psychologically, and culturally for language learning. Singleton in Brumfit (1997: 7) also defines some reasons for teaching English at primary level, they are: 1. The need to expose children from an early age to understanding of foreign cultures so that they grow up tolerant and sympathetic to others. 2. The need to link communication to understanding of view concepts. 3. The need for maximum learning time for important languages, the earlier you start the more time you get. 4. The advantage of starting with early second language instruction so that later the language can be used as a medium of teaching. From some statements above, it can be concluded that studying foreign language, especially English language, at junior high school is very important. By learning foreign language earlier, it prepares young learners to make a link of communication to understand concept of communication it self. It also maximizes
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learning time for learning foreign language, the earlier they start the more time they get. They will more understand what they have learned. For enhancing all aspects in foreign language, especially English skills (listening, speaking, writing, and reading), the students need something to do. Firstly, the students need to understand the meaning of words. The words here means as vocabulary. For beginners, vocabulary mastery is the basic knowledge in learning English. Coady and Huckin (1998: 5) say that vocabulary is the central to language and of critical importance to language learning for the young learners. Vocabulary supports all of the English skills. It should not be neglected by anyone who learns a language. Then, knowing words is the key for understanding and being understood. So it can be concluded that vocabulary takes the important aspect to master English well as a foreign language. Knowing more words in English language, it will make other person understand or make ourselves understood easily. Considering the importance of vocabulary competence, it is better to introduce new vocabulary earlier to the students. It makes them know and understand a lot of vocabularies. Therefore, it is not easy to teach English for the young learners, here are the junior high students. Sometimes, a teacher has many problems to develop the students‟ vocabulary mastery. One of the problems that are faced is the characteristics of the students as young learners. There are many kinds of students‟ characteristic. First, young learners forget something quickly. They will forget some words that are learned easily if the teachers do not repeat
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the words many times. It is clear that repetition is needed. Second, young learners get bored easily. Here, the teachers have to find out the appropriate, technique, or and material of teaching vocabulary for their students. By using the appropriate method, technique or and material, it is hoped the students feel amused and then get the best result in learning English, especially in vocabulary mastery. Third, young learners still like playing. They prefer playing than studying. They always discuss about something in their around while playing. So, it is important to find out the appropriate, technique, and or material t o enrich young learners‟ vocabulary mastery. The method, technique or the material is not only fun but should also contain the appropriate topic to be discussed. After having pre research by interviewing the teacher and observing teaching learning process of mastering vocabulary at the second year of SMP N 5 Sukoharjo, the researcher finds out that the students‟ vocabulary mastery is still low. It can be seen from some indicators that are shown by the students ‟ acts as follows: firstly, the students are less interested in teaching learning process. It may be caused by the teacher‟s material which is not appropriate and attractive. The materials used in teaching learning process only from books and students worksheet. There are no materials from other sources like internet, magazine, etc. So, it makes the students less interested and do not be active in teaching learning process. In teaching learning process, there are no interesting technique that used by the teacher. The teaching learning process uses teacher centre in delivering the lessons. Most of materials come from the teachers, so the
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students do not have full concentrat ion on the lesson and doing something useless during the process of teaching learning. Secondly, the students get difficulties to remember and grasp the meaning of words when the teacher gives them some English words. The students also get difficulties when they have to translate the words. It is because there are no appropriate learning sources that used to help the students for remembering the materials that are given. Thirdly, the students get difficulties in writing words or group of words correctly. It can be seen when they find some words that have double letters. Most of the students forget to write down the second letter. For example the word “suddenly”, the students write the word only “sudenly”. The other difficulties that the students faced when they do an exercise on jumble word. The students usually get mistake to rearrange into the correct word. Example is the word “n-t-w-i-r-e”. The correct arrangement is “winter” but students rearrange them become “writen”. From the indicators that are mentioned above, students‟ marks are still lower than the passing grade. Due to the facts above, the researcher tries to enrich vocabulary mastery of the students using short texts. She wants to make the students interested by using the teaching material of short texts. She uses short texts because short texts will help to solve the problems that are faced by the students. Short text is one of an interesting material that helps the students to find out the keys to remember and grasp many new vocabularies. Beside that the students will be easy to write down the correct words or group words. It is because all words or group word are inside of the short texts.
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Based on the description above, the researcher would like to conduct a research to solve the problem and also enrich students‟ vocabulary mastery by using short stories entitled “ENRICHING VOCABULARY MASTERY USING SHORT TEXTS” (A Classroom Action Research in the Second Year of SMP N 5 Sukoharjo in the Academic Year of 2009/2010).
B. The Limitation of the Problem
The research has a broad scope and it is impossible for the researcher to handle the study consisting of so many complicated problems. Therefore, the researcher limits the problem on how to enrich the students‟ vocabulary mastery using short texts of the second year of SMP N 5 Sukoharjo in the academic year of 2009/2010.
C. The Problems Statement
Based on the background of study, the researcher wants to prove whether or not the short texts can improve students‟ vocabulary mastery in learning English at the junior high school. The problems of the study can be formulated as follows: 1.
Can short texts enrich vocabulary mastery of the second year of SMP N 5 Sukoharjo in the academic year of 2009/2010?
2.
How is the students‟ motivation in teaching learning process using short texts of the second year of SMP N 5 Sukoharjo in the academic year of 2009/2010?
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D. The Objectives of the Research
Based on the formulation of the problem, the general objective of this research is to improve students‟ vocabulary by using short texts. Particularly, this research is aimed to find out: 1.
Whether using short texts can enrich the students‟ vocabulary of the second year of SMP 5 Sukoharjo in the academic year of 2009/2010.
2.
The students‟ motivation in teaching learning process using short texts of the second year of SMP N 5 Sukoharjo in the academic year of 2009/2010.
E. The Benefits of the Study
It is expected that this research contributes some significant progresses in teaching vocabulary for several sides, they are: 1.
Teacher It is expected that the teacher will get more information about one of the appropriate teaching materials, in this case is short texts. So the teacher hoped to create an interesting teaching learning process by using this teaching material. Then, the data of the research are also very useful for the teacher. It will help the teacher to identify the students‟ difficulties in lear ning vocabulary and also find the students who need more guiding. Then, the teacher can take some correct problems solving from those problems.
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2.
Students It is expected that the result will give motivation to the students to be better in vocabulary mastery. Through short texts, students are expected to have good enrichment in vocabulary and also the changes of behavior during teaching learning process.
3.
School It is expected that the information of the result will be very useful for getting success in teaching learning process, so the quality of teaching learning process can be increased. The result of the research is also hoped to improve students‟ achievement in English lesson standard.
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CHAPTER II REVIEW ON RELATED LITERATURE (RATIONALE AND HYPOTHESIS)
A. Review On Related Literature 1.
General Concept of Vocabulary
a.
Notion of Vocabulary There are some definitions of vocabulary proposed by linguist experts, Hatch and Brown (1995: 1) state that vocabulary is a list or set of words for a particular language or a list or set of words that individual speakers of a language might use. Since vocabulary is a list, the only system involved is alphabetical order in dictionaries. Here, vocabulary is written in alphabetical order in dictionaries based on system or rule of foreign language. Ur (1998: 60) defines that vocabulary can be mean as the words we teach in foreign language. It means vocabulary is written or spoken unit of language as symbol of idea in foreign language for the learners. For example, if someone learns new words in foreign language, it means that someone learns vocabulary. The items in vocabulary may be more than a single word, for example post office, mother-in-law, which expressing a single idea. Furthermore, McWhorter (1989: 311) says that vocabulary means the ability to recognize individual words and to associate
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meaning with the particular combination of letters that form a word. In the other word, vocabulary is the competence or skill in recognizing words and its meaning. Words are symbols, groups of letter that stand for, or represent, either a physical object or an idea. Then, recognizing words means knowing its meaning or idea and how they are formed by a combination of letters. For example, the word chair in our minds a physical reality, an object with a flat surface, usually supported by four legs, and used to for sitting. Then, the word love on the other hand, does not represent a physical object. It symbolizes the feeling of one person toward another. Based on Hatch and Brown, vocabulary deals with a series of words in particular language. Ur adds that vocabulary deals with word taught in foreign language. Meanwhile, McWhorter states that vocabulary deals with the competence in recognizing words and its meaning. Based on three definitions above, vocabulary can be constructed as a series of words in foreign language used to express meaning. The words here are the symbols in form of groups of letter represent either a physical object or an idea. It can be formed from a single or more than one word. b.
The Importance of Vocabulary Vocabulary is an important aspect in our life. It is because people need vocabulary in expressing their ideas both of in mother
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tongue and foreign language. Tailor (1991: 1) says that in order to live in the world, we must name objects. Names are essential for the construction of reality. Without a name, it will be difficult to accept the existence of an object, an event, and a feeling. Vocabulary always becomes the essential part of English as a foreign language. Every person who learns a language must learn the vocabulary of the language in order to make the learning process easier. Without vocabulary mastery, learning a language becomes a very hard thing to do and communication in second language cannot happen in any meaningful way. In language learning, vocabulary plays an important role. Edge (1993: 27) states that knowing a lot of words in foreign language are very important. Cross (1995: 14) states that a good store of words is crucial for understanding and communication. A strong vocabulary can be a valuable asset, both in college and later in our career. According to the statement above, it can be concluded that vocabulary is very important in learning language and mastering vocabulary will facilitate someone in using language in communication. c.
Vocabulary Mastery Coulson et al (1987: 1050) define that mastery is skill, use, or knowledge. It means mastery is the ability to use one of knowledge. While Hornby (1984:523) says that mastery is the complete control or
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knowledge. Here, mastery is the whole power or ability to direct knowledge. It means mastery is the ability to combine skill and knowledge in one certain area. The certain area in teaching means a lesson taught. It is usually arranged by a standard of curriculum and syllabus in every aspect whether the topic or the test. While vocabulary is a series of words in foreign language used to express meaning in form of symbols of groups of letter, either a physical object or an idea and it also can be formed from a single or more than one word. So, from both of definitions above, vocabulary mastery can be constructed as an ability to combine skill or knowledge of words that used to express meaning, in case of the physical object or idea, in form of symbols of group of letter in a single or more one word. The process of vocabulary mastery is not simple. The vocabulary mastery can not be done spontaneous but step by step. Keraf (1989: 6566) defines the step in processing vocabulary mastery. First, children period, this term children are able to define concept vocabulary to say their concrete idea. Second, adolescent period, this term is the adolescent start to use the language and make it more extensive directly in simple communication. Third, adult period, this term the vocabulary are used more and more intensive because they make more communication each other.
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From the definition above, mastery may be defined as the ability to use skill or knowledge in one subject area based on recognized standard. While vocabulary, means a series of words in foreign language used to express meaning. Then vocabulary mastery define as an ability to combine skill or knowledge of words that used to express meaning, in case of the physical object or idea, in form of symbols of group of letter in a single or more one word. d.
The Way How to Improve Vocabulary Mastery There are various ways to improve vocabulary mastery. The teachers may have some techniques to teach it. The technique here refers to the way of teaching. The success of teaching learning process depends on not only the teachers‟ and students‟ competence but also the technique of teaching. Dealing with the technique of vocabulary teaching, there are so many techniques proposed by some experts. There are two techniques in improving vocabulary mastery. They are direct and indirect techniques. Direct technique is usually used through the language book, prose, poetry and games. Then indirect technique uses the other source of lesson like mathematic, social lesson, and science lesson. There are some techniques of teaching vocabulary. The techniques are the unplanned vocabulary teaching and planned vocabulary
teaching.
Unplanned
vocabulary
teaching
is
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extemporaneous teaching of vocabulary items that come up without planning in course of lesson, while planned vocabulary teaching where the teacher goes into classroom with an item or a set of vocabulary items that the teacher has decided before hand. The planned vocabulary teaching can be described as “the vocabulary lesson” since the primary objective of the teaching activities is the presentation and practice of the lexical item themselves. While Lewis and Hill (1992: 102-103) mention some ways to teach vocabulary. They are: 1) Demonstrate Demonstration is the way of teaching vocabulary by doing physical demonstration together verbal explanation. The demonstration helps to make the meaning clearer and to fix the word in the students‟ minds. Beside that it also helps students to memorize both of visual and aural memories. For examples, stagger, chuckle, etc. 2) Use the real thing In this way, the teachers present vocabulary items by bringing the real things into classroom. The objects of the real things can be in the class or probably through the window. Sometimes the explanation is no more complicated than pointing.
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3) Draw or sketch Teachers do not need to be artists to make simple sketches which illustrate meaning. For example the meaning of bush was explained by two very simple sketches. 4) Use the blackboard to show scales or grades Words like cool, orange (color), or probably may be explained by presenting them with groups of related words: Hot
red
certainly / definitely
warm
orange
probably / possibly
cool
yellow
cold
5) Antonyms This is the way of teaching vocabulary by giving the opposites or antonyms of the word. Here, the learners have to be aware that a word may have different opposite in difficult context. It is worth that the explanations given here are not exact definitions of the word, the level of the explanation must be suitable to the students‟ level of English at the time so that dictionary, like accuracy can often be counter-productive. For example: light bag >< heavy bag
poor >< rich
light word >< strong word
dirty >< clean
rough area >< quite area
happy >< sad
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rough texture >< smooth texture
high >< low
6) Synonyms Synonyms are the way of teaching vocabulary by giving same meaning of two or more words. Though words may have similar denotation meaning, their connotation meanings often differ. Beside that, using the former phrase also helps to build up in the students‟ mind ides that language consists of choice, that words do not mean the same as each other. 7) The dictionary This is the way of teaching vocabulary by using dictionary to know vocabulary items. One technique for explaining these which teachers too frequently overlook is asking the class whether anybody knows the word and, or not, asking one or more students to look the word up in a dictionary. A bilingual dictionary can be used at low levels and monolingual dictionary at the high levels. 8) Verbal explanation Verbal explanation refers to the way of teaching vocabulary by explaining the meaning of vocabulary items in students‟ own language. 9) Translation It is a way of teaching vocabulary by translating some words or individual words from the target language into other language. It is
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seen as boring and traditional. In this technique, the teacher will find difficulty to translate the word(s) into all languages, if the class consists of different nationalities. Furthermore, Gairns (1991: 73-75) says that there are some techniques used in presenting new vocabulary. They are: 1) Visual techniques a) Visual These include flashcards, photographs, blackboard drawings, wallcharts, and realia (i.e. objects themselves). They are extensively used for conveying meaning and particularly useful for teaching concrete items of vocabulary such as furniture, and certain areas of vocabulary such as places, professions, descriptions of people, actions, and activities. b) Mime and gesture These are often used to supplement other ways of conveying meaning. When teaching an item such as “to swerve”, a teacher might build a situation to illustrate it, making use of blackboard and gesture to reinforce the concept. 2) Verbal Techniques a) Use illustrative situation (oral or written) This is most helpful when items become more abstract. To ensure that students understand, teachers often make use of
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more than one situation or context to check that students have grasped the concept. b) Use of synonymy and definition Definition here is the way of teaching vocabulary by defining or describing objects. Synonymy is also the way of teaching by giving more than one meaning for a word. c) Contrast and opposites Contrast and opposites are they way of teaching vocabulary by giving the opposites of the words. However, it is vital to illustrate the contexts in which this is true. d) Scales Once students have learnt two contrasting or related gradable items, this can be a useful way of revising and feeding in new items. This is the example of adverbs of frequency: never hardly ever occasionally I
go to cinema on Sundays sometimes often always
19
e) Examples of type This is the way of teaching vocabulary by exemplifying things it self. The example of “furniture” is “table, chair, bed, sofa, etc”. Some of these can of course also be dealt with through visual aids. 3) Translation Translation can be very effective way of conveying meaning. It can save valuable time in teaching process but it seen as boring and traditional. The teacher will find difficulties if the students come from different nationalities. In this paper, the researcher uses definition, synonyms, antonyms, mime and gesture, dictionary, verbal explanation and translation techniques to improve students‟ vocabulary mastery. It is because the techniques that are mentioned are usually used in school. Then, it is also hoped that by using these techniques, the students can understand and grasp the vocabulary easily. e.
The Construct of Vocabulary Mastery Dealing with the vocabulary mastery, it can be defined as an ability to combine skill or knowledge of words that is used to express meaning, in case of the physical object or idea, in form of symbols of group of letter in a single or more one word.
20
Thornbury (2002: 27) declares some factors why learning vocabulary is rather difficult for second language learner. If those factors are fulfilled, someone can be said that he or she has achieved the vocabulary mastery. The example is when an Indonesian student has an English subject at school and it is the second language for her or him. She or he can not understand the lesson easily. It is because she or he should know the appropriate word, how to spell, how to pronunce, what‟s the meaning, etc to express the idea of the subject. Here, Thornbury says that the factors come from the word‟s aspects such pronunciation, spelling, length and complexity, grammar, meaning, and range, connotation and idiomatic are the indicators in vocabulary mastery. Those six aspects above will be defined briefly here. 1)
Pronunciation Research shows that words that are difficult to pronounce are more difficult to learn. Potentially difficult words will typically be those that contain sounds that are unfamiliar to some groups of learners- such as regular and lorry for Japanese speakers. Many learners find that words with clusters of consonants, such as strength or crisp or breakfast , are also problematic.
2)
Spelling Sound- spelling mismatches are likely to be the cause of errors, either of pronunciation or of spelling, and can contribute to a
21
word‟s difficulty. While most English spelling is fairly law-abiding, there are also some glaring irregularities. Words that contain silent letters are particularly problematic: foreign, listen, headache, climbing, bored, honest, cupboard, muscle, etc.
3)
Length and complexity Long words seem to be no more difficult to learn than short ones. However, as a rule of thumb, high frequency words tend to be short in English, and therefore the learner is likely to meet them more often, a factor favoring their „learn ability‟. Furthermore, variable stress in polysyllabic words- such as in word families like necessary, necessity and necessarily can add to their difficulty.
4)
Grammar It is problematic when grammar associated with the word, especially if this differs from that of its L 1 equivalent. Spanish learners of English , for example, tend to assume that explain follows the same pattern as both Spanish explicar and English tell, and say he explained me the lesson. Remembering whether a verb like enjoy, love, or hope is followed by an infinitive ( to swim) or an – ing form
(swimming) can add to its difficulty. Then the grammar of phrasal verbs is particularly troublesome: some phrasal verbs are separable (she looked the word up) but others are not ( she looked after the children).
22
5)
Meaning When two words overlap in meaning, learners are likely to confuse them. Make and do are a case in point: you make breakfast and make an appointment , but you do the housework and do a questionnaire . The words with multiple meanings such as since, and still, can also be troublesome for learners. Having learned one
meaning of the word, they may be reluctant to accept a second, totally different, meaning. Unfamiliar concepts may make a word difficult to learn. Thus, culture specific items such as words and expressions associated with the game cricket ( a sticky wicket, a hat trick, and a good innings) will seem fairly opaque to most learners
and are likely to be easily learned. 6)
Range, connotation and idiomaticity Words that can be used in a wide range of context will generally be perceived as easier than their synonyms with a narrower range. Thus put is a very wide-ranging verb, compare to impose, place, position, etc. Likewise, thin is a safer bet than skinny, slim, slender . The words have style constraints, such as very informal
words (chuck for throw, swap for exchange) may cause problems. Uncertainly to the connotations of some words may cause problems too. Thus, propaganda has negative connotations in English, but its nearest equivalent in other languages may dean deviant. Finally,
23
words or expression that are idiomatic (like make up your mind, keep an eye on…) will generally be more difficult than words whose meaning is transparent (decide, watch). It is their idiomaticity, as well as their syntactic complexity that makes phrasal verbs so difficult. From all those definition above, we conclude that vocabulary mastery is the students‟ awareness of understanding the words and their rules to communicate. The aspects to be measured are limited to pronunciation of words, spelling, the use of words in meaning and meaning. It is because, those three aspects that are learned in junior high school.
2.
Essences of Short Text
a.
The Concept of Text Brown and Yule (1997: 24) suggest that the term to spoke “text” as well, where “text” means verbal record communication. They also differentiate the term of those text and discourse dealing with the context. Willis (1998: 67) says that text in general sense to mean a continuous piece of spoken or written language. Texts in this sense are printed texts. Arthur Hughes (2003:140) states that texts candidates are expected to be able to deal with can be specified along number of parameters: type, form, graphic features, topic, style, intended readership, length,
24
readability or difficulty, range of vocabulary and grammatical structure. Text type include: text books, handouts, articles (in newspaper, journals or magazine), poems, encyclopedia, dictionary, novel (extracts) and short stories, etc. He also states that text forms include: description, exposition, argumentation, instruction, and narration. Cross (1995:77-78) states that the text is a major resources; permitting you to vary the learning activities from lesson to lesson. There are four main factors to consider when deciding how to threat a passage; linguistic complexity, length, interest level and aims. From the definition above, it can be concluded that the text is a verbal communication which consists of continuous piece of spoken or written language and its meaning is contextually. b.
The Concept of Story Story is account of past events, incidents, or account of invented or imagined events, etc (Hornby: 1995: 94). Taylor (2000: 16) says that story is relating tale to one or more listener through voice and gesture. It is clear that vocabulary in a story should be presented in clear context; the amusing situations can make the vocabulary easy to remember. Ray B. West (1968: v) says that story is something brought into being by application of the skill and workings of the imagination of the author. Its aim is to arouse the emotions and stimulate the imagination of the students.
25
Brad Hooper (1992: xi) says that story is different from a novel in that it is short enough to be read in one sitting, with every word leading toward some final, preordained preordained effect. In story, the sentences are generally shorter in order the students easy to follow the story. From the statements above, the writer draw conclusion that story refers to the written or spoken description of past events, incidents, or account of invented or imagined events that can be used to for teaching students which have aims to make the students easier to follow the story and it has different from a novel that is short enough to be read in one sitting. This paper, the writer uses the story as text especially folktale for increasing vocabulary mastery in second year of SMP N 5 Sukoharjo Academic Year 2009/2010. c.
The Notion of Folktales One kind of story that usually heard by child is the folktales. It is type words composition that recites the story of the folklore in a certain region that is popularly and orally told from one generation to other generation in a certain community. (www.classicalfolktale.wikipedia.com)) (www.classicalfolktale.wikipedia.com
1) The meaning of Folktales The word folktale is not defined in English usage. Taylor (2000:4) defines the term “folktale” as traditional story that has been
26
passed by words of mouth, told from parents to children over many generations or passed on by countless storytellers sitting around countless evening fires. No one knows who the original author was, and there are usually different versions of the same story, he also states that the term “folktale” has also been used to refer to literary retelling of these tales. Another definition of folktales is that “words folktales refer to the many types of traditional narrat ives know to the “folk” (Coffin and Cohen, 1996:1). Philips (1992) defines folktales as story about telling stories with unverifiable claims and its literary form. From the definition above, we can assume that folktales are traditional stories that have been passed by words of mouth and told from generation to generation. Folktales lasted through a long period of time due to their universality. They are forms of traditional literature which began as attempt to explain and understand the natural and spiritual world. The origin of folktales lies in oral tradition. 2) The type of folktales There are several types of folktales. Taylor (2000) divides folktales as fable, fairy tales, hero stories, myths, legend. Fables are very short folktales with animals as the main characteristic and with very obvious moral lesson, often summon up in single line at the end.
27
Legend is stories that are based on real hero and his or her mighty deeds. And believed by the teller and served as historical purpose: “The dog and the meat” and “the greedy old spider”. Fairy tales are folktales that include some magical elements (not necessity fairies): the German word marchen is sometimes used for this. Fairy tales are fictional and take place in a never-land. Examples: Tumbelina. Hero stories some of which have some real historical parts and other of which may not. Examples “Johnny Appleased” and “Pail Bunyan”, primitive myth, when strictly defined, is religious and deals with the creating and ordering of the universe and with the earlier order in which present world condition were being established. It is told as if they are fact, and usually involving God, Goddesses and supe rnatural power: “Adam and Eve” and “Noah‟s ark”. Legends are stories that are based on a real hero and his or her mighty deeds and believed by the teller and serve a historical purpose. Example: “Shakespeare‟s Ghost” and “Paul Bunyan”. 3) The Characteristics of Folktales Although there a lot of variations between folktales, and even between two telling stories of the same tale, certain characteristics typical in folktales contribute to relatively easy reading. Taylor
28
(2000:9) gives various characteristics of folktales that make them exceptionally good for language teaching. These are the list:
3.
-
time order
-
repetition and redundancy
-
predictability
-
relatively simply grammar
-
concrete ideas
-
illustrations that provide support and context for the texts
-
a unique reader-write relationship
The General Concept of Young Learners
a.
The Notion of Young Learners Teaching English to children is different from teaching English to and adult. In relation to the English teaching learning process, they need activities which are exiting and can stimulate their curiosity. It means that the English teacher should be use the technique for English teaching that can make the students interested in learning English Lesson (House, 1997: 98)
b.
The Characteristic of Children In general, children have the following characteristics:
29
1) They like playing Children like playing. They more like playing than learning. Hence from that to convey the material of learning we should be able to take both, that is playing and learning in the same time. 2) They talk about “Here and Now” Children always discuss about existing in their around and happened in that time. So material of teaching that will be teaching is about their surrounding and happened in that time. 3) Their own understanding comes through hands, eyes, and ears Children will be understandings about what we talk are using hands, eyes, and ears. Clark (1990: 6-8) states the characteristics of the children are as follows: 1) Children are developing conceptually. They develop their way of thinking from the concrete to the abstract thing. 2) Children have no real linguistic. They teach subject what school provides for them 3) Children are still developing their common skill such as turn taking and the use of body language. They learn more slowly. 4) Young children are very egocentric. They tend to resolves around themselves.
30
5) Children get bored easily children have no choice to attend school. The class activities must be fun and interesting by setting up the interesting activities. 6) Children are at early of their education, ensuring success and enhancing the children‟s motivation are important factors in promoting the success of early start in foreign language learning. 7) Children are better mimics. It will take them more confident in attempting the sound of foreign language and they delighted in playing the sound. 8) Children forget quickly. Therefore, the teacher in teaching English needs repetition. From the definition above, it can be conclude that young learner need activities which are exiting and can stimulate their curiosity, of course based on their characteristics in teaching learning English lesson.
4.
The Notion of Motivation
a.
The Definition of Motivation Motivation is needed in every occasion, especially in teaching learning process. It is because motivation will influence someone both in process and result. Thus, it is very important for teachers to know about motivation.
31
Some experts define some definition of motivation. Brophy (1998: 3) says that motivation refers to the students‟ subjective experiences, their willingness to engage in teaching learning activities and their reasons for doing this. Then, Weiner (in Elliot et al, 2000: 332) says that motivation is internal states that arouses us to action, pushes us in particular direction, and keep us engaged in certain activities. Next, Groccia (1992: 62) states that people learn and study because the consequences of such behavior satisfy certain internal and/or external motives. From the definition above it can be concluded that motivation is an arousal, impulse, or desire that moves and leads learner to do a particular action in order to meet and needs or to attain a set of goals of teaching learning process. b.
The Types of Motivation There are many kinds of learning motivation stated by the experts. Biggs and Watkins (1995: 84) state that there are four categories of motivation, namely: extrinsic motivation, achievement motivation, social motivation, intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation is motivation where the students learn because of consequences to obtain a reward and to avoid the punishment. While intrinsic motivation is motivation where the students learn because they are interested in task or activities itself.
32
Achievement motivation, the students learn in order to compete against the other students, that is winning makes they feel good. Then, social motivation is defined as the students‟ motivation in order to make the other people feel pleasure. Ur (1996: 19) defines some kinds of motivation. They are integrated
motivation
and
instrumental
motivation.
Integrative
motivation is the desire to identify with and integrate into target language culture. Then instrumental motivation is to wish to learn the language for purposes of study or carrier. c.
The Characteristic of Motivated Students Naiman et al, in Ur (1996: 275) comes to conclusion that the most successful students are not necessary those to whom a language comes very easily; they are those who display certain typical characteristic, most of them clearly associated with motivation, those are as follows: 1). Positive task oriented. The learner willing to tackle tasks and challenges, and has confidence in his or her success. 2). Ego-involvement. The learner finds it important to succeed in learning and promote his or her own positive self-image. 3). Need for achievement. The learner has needs to achieve, to overcome difficulties and succeed in what he or she sets out to do. 4). High aspiration. The learner is ambitious, goes for demanding challenges, high proficiency, top grades.
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5). Goal orientation. The learner is very aware of the goals of learning, or of specific learning activities, and directs his or her effort towards achieving them. 6). Perseverance. The learner consistently invests a high level of effort in learning, and it is not discouraged by setbacks or apparent lack progress. 7). Tolerance of ambiguity. The learner is not disturbed or frustrated by situations involving a temporary lack of understanding will come later.
B. Rationale
In learning English vocabulary, there are difficulties that might be faced by the learners especially the young learners. T he students‟ vocabulary mastery of SMP N 5 Sukoharjo in the academic year of 2009/2010 is still low. It can be seen from some indicators that are shown by the students as follows: firstly, the students are less interested in teaching learning process. It is caused by the teacher‟s material which is not appropriate on their level. Most of the students do not have full concentration on the lesson and doing something useless during the process of teaching learning. Secondly, the students get difficulties to remember and grasp the meaning of words when the teacher gives them some English words and then translate them. Thirdly, the students get difficulties in writing words or group of words correctly. It can be seen when they do the exercises. They could
34
not do the exercises perfectly. Most of their marks are still lower than the passing grade. So, the teacher should create an interesting teaching material. The teaching materials should be suitable with the young learners‟ characteristics. One of the teaching materials that can be used is the short texts. Short texts are interesting materials in teaching language. By using short texts, the teacher helps the students to remember the words and understand the meaning and also the grammatical pattern of the sentences easily. Considering the explanation above, the researcher believes that short texts can enrich students‟ vocabulary mastery.
C. Hypothesis
The hypothesis of this research can be formulated as follows: by using short texts, the students can improve their vocabulary mastery, especially for the Second Year of SMP N 5 Sukoharjo in the academic Year of 2009/2010.
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CHAPTER III RESEACH METODHOLOGY
A. Setting and Subject of the Research.
1.
Setting of place This research was done in SMP Negeri 5 Sukoharjo, Sukoharjo Regency. This school is located at Bulakan, Sukoharjo. It is because there is a problem related with students‟ vocabulary mastery.
2.
Time of research This research held on a cycle on second semester in the academic year of 2009/2010. The details are the pre-test, the treatments, and the posttest. The pre-test was done on the first meeting. It was done for knowing the students‟ basic ability of the second grade class of SMP Negeri 5 Sukoharjo in the academic year of 2009/2010. Next, the treatments were done on the second until five meeting. The aim was to master vocabulary by using short stories. Post test was done on the six meeting. Last, the post-test was done on the sixth meeting. It was done for knowing the students‟ improvement after using short texts in teaching learning process.
3.
Subject of the Research The subject of this research is the second grade class of SMP Negeri 5 Sukoharjo in the academic year of 2009/2010. There are 35 students for class A, consist of 11 boys and 24 girls.
Edited by Foxit Reader Copyright(C) by Foxit Software Company,2005-2008 For Evaluation Only. 36
B. Method of the Research
This research is a kind of action research. For a starting point, it is necessary to give a definition of action research. Dewi Rochsantiningsih (2008) defines action research as: “proses sistematis di mana guru dengan sukarela melibatkan diri untuk melakukan refleksi dokumentasi, dan atau tindakan untuk lebih memahami hakekat dan atau konsekuensi mengajar dengan tujuan untuk melakukan tindakan atau menguabah atau meningkatkan kualitas pembelajaran dan lebih baik bila dilakukan secara kolaboratif dengan kolega atau teman guru.”
Kemmis (1983) in Hopkins (1993: 44) says that action research is a form of self-reflective inquiry undertaken by participants in social (including educational) situation in order to improve the rationality and justice of (a) their own social or educational practices; (b) their understanding to these practices, and (c) the situations in which the practices are carried out. It is most rationally empowering when undertaken by participants collaboratively, though it is often undertaken by individuals and sometimes in cooperation with outsiders. Rapport (1970) in Hopkins (1993: 44) says that action research is aimed to contribute both to the practical concern of people in an immediate problematic situation and to the goals of the school science by joint collaboration within a mutually acceptable ethical framework. Meanwhile, Ebbutt (1985) in Hopkins (1993: 45) states action research is about the systematic study of attempts to improve educational practice by groups of participants by means of their own practical actions and by means of own reflection upon the effects of those actions.
37
Furthermore, Wiersma (2000: 10) states one type of applied research is action research, research conducted by a teacher, administrator, or other educational professionals to aid in decision making in the local school. Action research focuses on the solution of day-to-day problems at the local level. Action research is usually less rigorous in term of design and methodology than other educational researches. Often, intact groups are used in some cases, only a single group or individual is involved in the study. From the definition above, it can be concluded that action research is a systematic study and it is a form of self-reflective inquiry undertaken or carried out by participants in educational situation rather than outside researches to solve the problem in order to improve the students‟ ability. By participating the actions in this research, it is hoped that the researcher will find the solution for developing the students‟ vocabulary mastery. Based on the definition and the aims above, this research is done to increase the students‟ vocabulary mastery through short texts.
C. The Model of Action Research
The model of classroom action research used in this study is based on the model developed by Kemmis and Mc Taggart (1985). According to the model, the implementation of the classroom action research includes four steps in the following:
38
1.
Planning Develop a plan of critically informed action to improve what is already happening.
2.
Action Act to implement the plan.
3.
Observation Observe the effects of the critically informed action in the context in which it occurs.
4.
Reflection Reflecting process on these effects as the basis for further planning, subsequent critically informed and so on, through a succession of a stages. Based on Hopkins‟ point of views (1993: 48) this model can be illustrated
as follow.
Edited by Foxit Reader Copyright(C) by Foxit Software Company,2005-2008 For Evaluation Only. 39
D. The Procedures of Action Research
In this classroom action research, each procedure takes five steps in one cycle. There are follows: 1.
Identifying the problems The researcher identified the problem before planning the action. The problem referred to the students‟ difficulty in learning vocabulary. The problem was caused by the technique of delivering material which was not suitable and interesting to the learners. It was obtained by observing the teaching learning process, interviewing the students, and conducting a pre-test.
2.
Planning the action The researcher prepared everything related to the action as follows: a.
Planning the steps and technique for delivering the material in the form of lesson plan.
b.
Designing the steps in doing the action.
c.
Preparing the material.
d.
Preparing sheets for classroom observation (to know the situation of teaching learning process when the technique is applied).
e.
Preparing teaching aids.
f.
Preparing a test. It was done to know whether students‟ vocabulary could be improved or not.
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3.
Implementing the action The researcher implemented the teaching learning activity of vocabulary using short texts. The real implementations were generally presented as follows: a. The researcher greeted the students and checked the students ‟ attendance at the beginning of class. b. The researcher presented the material by giving a worksheet one by one to the students. c. The researcher stimulated the students to try guessing some words related to the stories. d. The researcher gave explanation about the words, pronounced them correctly, and drilled the students. e. The researcher gave the students time to make note in their book. f. The researcher gave the students individual task. g. The researcher gave the students oral task by pointing the students one by one to guess and pronounce the words that are related to the stories shown by teacher to check whether the students had understood. h. The researcher discussed the answer of task with the students i. After doing the practices, the researcher reviewed the material.
4.
Observing and monitoring the action The researcher observed all activities in the teaching learning process and created a conducive atmosphere in a class.
41
5.
Evaluating and Reflecting the result of the observation The researcher evaluated all actions in the cycle. The researcher observed the actions to find the problems of the activities that had been carried out in using short stories in teaching vocabulary.
E. Technique of Collecting Data
The techniques of collecting data are qualitative and quantitative method. Qualitative method consists of observation, field notes, interview, photograph, document analysis. Observation technique means the researcher comes to the class, observes the teaching learning process done by the teacher and the students. Based on Burns (1999: 80), observation is a kind of activities in action research that enables researchers to document and reflect systematically upon classroom interactions and events, as they actually occur rather than as we think they occur. The teacher takes the position behind the class while observing the teaching learning process and makes a note all things about what happen during the teaching learning process.
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Notes or field notes are descriptions and accounts of events in the research context that are written in relatively factual and objective style (Burns, 1999: 87). The researcher made notes of each observation done. The researcher made note to all activities during the lesson, and noted the students‟ reaction and response to the learning. The interview technique is done spontaneously. It means that the researcher does not make some questions first. This interview is also done to the students and the teacher before and after teaching learning process. The purpose is to get the information about everything in teaching learning process using short stories. Photographs are a way of greatly enhancing classroom analysis and providing visual stimuli that can be integrated into reporting and presenting the research to others (Burns, 1999: 101). Analyzing the document was done toward the Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan, which is about English lesson in Junior High School including its Standar Kompetensi and Kompetensi Dasar. The aim of this analysis was to complete the information which had been gotten from observation and interview. Then, quantitative method uses test technique. Test technique which is used is achievement test. Achievement test is the test that is used to measure students‟ ability after learning something (Arikunto, 1996: 21). The test here is a vocabulary test. The vocabulary test is used to measure the students‟ vocabulary mastery. In this research, the researcher used essay and pronoun test type for both
43
the pre-test and post-test. The total numbers of test items were 30 items. The test consisted of vocabularies that had been taught to the students. The result of the test was analyzed to know the students‟ achievement on vocabulary. There are some steps that should be done by the researcher in this action research. Here is the diagram of the steps. Table 1. The steps in Action Research Step of action
Pre action
Participant
Technique
Data
Students
Interview
Result of the interview
Researcher
Observation
Result of observation
Test (Pre-test)
Result of pre-test
Students
Planning
Result of observation
Researcher
Implementing
Field notes
Observing
Result of post-test
The action
and
monitoring
Students
Researcher
Post action
Reflecting
Test (Post-test)
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F. Technique of Data Analysis
The technique of data analysis in this research consists of two kinds; they are qualitative descriptive analysis and also quantitative descriptive analysis. 1.
Qualitative descriptive In qualitative descriptive analysis, the data are the result of observation, field notes, interview, and photographs. The steps are: (a) compare the data from each informant to make easy in classifying the same data, (b) classify the data in certain classification, (c) Making the inference, making the data in the table, (d) making an inductive conclusion. Making a hypothesis using the classify data.
2.
Quantitative descriptive analysis In quantitative descriptive analysis, this research uses descriptive statistics. It is used to make the data simple and communicative. This step uses a simple formula that is called as t-test of non-independent. It makes clearer the data and the characteristic of the data (Nurgiantoro, 2001:8). In this formula, the pre-test is compared with the post-test to know whether teaching vocabulary using short stories can improve the students‟ vocabulary mastery. The formula of t-test of non-independent is as follows: t=
where t is the result of t-test non-independent
45
Finally, when the difference between the values of t-obtained and the value of t-table is significant, the effectiveness of using short stories to improve students‟ vocabulary mastery will be known.
G. Validity of the Instrument
In computing the validity of each item from the instrument, the researcher uses the formula as follows:
where;
and
p
: the number of correct answer
q
: the number of incorrect answer
n
: the number of respondent
The result of the computation of validity will be consulted to t-table distribution, from this; it will be known whether or not the instrument is valid.
H. Reliability of the Instrument
After the valid items are determined, the reliability can be determined by using the formula:
; where k is the number of valid items.
46
The result of the computation of reliability will be consulted to r table of statistics. From this, it will be known whether or not the instrument is reliable.
I. The Criteria of Successful Action
The measurement that is used in checking vocabulary mastery is test. The indicators are: (1) there is an improvement number of students that have minimal criterion at least 75 % from the total number of students, and (2) there is an improving average mark of the class based on the criteria in the curriculum that is used in that school.
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CHAPTER IV RESEARCH FINDING AND DISCUSSION
In this chapter, the researcher discusses the implementation of the action. The structure of the writing contains introduction, the description of the research, and discussion. Introduction contains the problem faced by the students. The description of the research contains the implementations of the actions of the research in the field. The discussion deals with the implementations of the actions that are teaching by using short texts based on theories from some experts.
A. Introduction
As presented in chapter I, many problems were found in teaching English for students of the second year of SMP Negeri 5 Sukoharjo in the academic year of 2009/2010. They were supported in pre-research that has been done by the researcher. The main problem faced by the students was the lack of vocabularies. Their vocabulary was still low. It can be seen from the indicators like: 1) they were less interested in teaching learning process; 2) they got difficulties to understand and grasp the meaning of words; and 3) they got difficulties in writing words or group of words correctly. The difficulties of learning vocabularies were caused by some reasons. First, the students as young learners forget something quickly. They will forget
48
some words that are learned easily if the teachers do not repeat the words many times. So, repetition is needed. Second, the students as young learners get bored easily. Here, the teachers have to find out the appropriate method, technique, or and material of teaching vocabulary for their students. By using the appropriate method, technique or and material, it is hoped the students feel amused and then get the best result in learning English, especially in vocabulary mastery. Third, the students as young learners still like playing. They prefer playing to studying. They always talk about something while playing. So, it is important to find out the appropriate method, technique, and or material to enrich young learners‟ vocabulary mastery. The method, technique or the material is not only fun but should also contain the appropriate topic to be discussed. Based on the facts above, the researcher decided to conduct a research to solve the problems through this study. One of the problems that is taken in this study is the materials that are not suitable and interesting to the students. Thus, the research is concentrated on improving materials of teaching vocabulary through a classroom action research and the use of short texts as the teaching learning source. There were some targets which the researcher expected to achieve by conducting the action for the improvement of students‟ vocabulary. Firstly, the researcher wanted to create interesting situation in the classroom. Secondly, the researcher wanted to make the students are able to grasp and remember the
49
meaning of words more easily. Thirdly, the researcher wanted to make the students able to write the words or group of words correctly so the improvement of students‟ vocabulary could be achieved. Based on the problems and the targets that the researcher expected to achieve, the researcher decided to carry out interesting teaching materials, in this case was short texts, in presenting and practicing new vocabularies. Through a classroom action research, the researcher hopes that the research can enrich students‟ vocabulary mastery and change the situation during the teaching learning process.
B.
The Description of the Research
The implementation of the action planned in this research was held in a cycle. The researcher divided the cycle into four meetings. Each meeting took 80 minutes. It was conducted from April,
2010 until April,
2010. In this
cycle, the researcher used short texts as the teaching materials. The cycle in this research also consisted of series of steps, namely planning the action, implementing the action, observing or monitoring the action, evaluating and reflecting the result of the observation, and revising the plan. They are explained as follows:
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1.
Planning the action
The action plan was made based on the problems that were mentioned in the introduction above. To overcome those problems, the researcher planned and chose interesting learning materials to solve the problems and improve students‟ behavior during teaching learning process. The researcher chose short texts as the teaching materials. The researcher believed that short stories could improve the students‟ vocabulary and attract the students‟ enthusiasm in teaching learning process. It is because the stories are very funny and give the students a lot of new list of vocabularies. By using short text, it was expected that the students are able to grasp the meaning of new vocabulary easily. Besides that, the students are able to write down the words or group of words correctly. The teacher also planned to drill the students‟ pronunciations using the words that have been prepared. So, the indicators of vocabulary mastery can be completed. The researcher taught 80 minutes in every meeting. The researcher planned to use 10 minutes to greet the students and stated the topic. The researcher told the students that they were going to learn English by using short stories that day. It was to get the students‟ attention and interest. The researcher also gave a lot of time to drill the students. The students could drill every word until five times. The students could ask questions whenever they found problems. The researcher allocated 60 minutes to give the students a chance to learn the material by doing the worksheet and to practice
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the pronunciation of the words that they have learned. The last five up to ten minutes was to review and close the lesson. Before implementing the action, the researcher conducted a pre -test on the first meeting. This test was conducted in the beginning to know the students‟ ability about the material that would be given. The pre test was conducted on April,
2010. Besides preparing the pre-test, the researcher
prepared the material, lesson plans as researche r‟s guidance in teaching vocabulary, students‟ worksheet that consisted of some tasks and also teaching equipments that are related to the action. After implementing the action, the researcher conducted a post-test. Post-test was conducted after the last action on the last meeting of the cycle, April,
2010 to know the
students‟ improvement of vocabulary mastery. 2.
Research Implementation
The action plan was implemented by the researcher with the help from the teacher as the observer. This cycle was conducted in four meetings. Each meeting was divided into three terms, namely: opening, main activity, and closing. a. First meeting 1) Opening A pre test was conducted on April,
2010. The test started at
10.25 a.m. The bell rang. The researcher came to the class on time
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and greeted the students. After greeting the students, the researcher checked the students‟ attendance list. The researcher also asked about the students‟ preparation to face the test that would be done on that day. The test was a pre-test. This test was aimed to know students‟ ability about the new materials that would be given, in this case was short stories. Then, the researcher explained about the rules of the test. After that, she passed the worksheet test to the students. 2) Main activity After getting test worksheet, the students did the test individually. The students were not allowed to cheat in doing the test or to look for the answer on the dictionary. The test was about understanding the meaning of words, pronunciation of words, the use of words in context and spelling. 3) Closing After the bell rang, the researcher asked the students to collect the test worksheet on the desk. Then, the researcher checked the test worksheet whether they were complete or not. Next, the researcher asked about the students‟ feeling. After that, the researcher gave the information that the students would get the materials in the next meeting and closed the meeting on that day
.
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b. Second meeting 1) Opening The second meeting was conducted on April,
2010. The
researcher and the observer came to the class at 10.25 am and then greeted the students. After greeting the students, the researcher checked the students‟ attendance. No one was absent that day. The researcher distributed students‟ worksheet to the students for the second meeting. 2) Main Activity To open the lesson, she asked the students whether they ever read or heard short stories or not. The students answered “ yes, Mam”. Then, the researcher asked the students to mention some short texts that they ever read or heard. Some of them mentioned some titles of short stories; this means that they understood what learning source that would be used. After introducing the materials that would be used, the researcher began the lesson of the day by asking the students to find the meaning of some words. They tried to answer the task by looking for the answer on the dictionary. Then, the researcher and the students checked the answer together.
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Next, the researcher gave a chance to the students to read the story on their own worksheet. The title was “The Flowers from the Moon”. The researcher also asked them to find out the idea of the story using words that they ever had before. They obeyed the researcher‟s instruction. After the students finished reading the short story, the researcher asked three of the students to mention the main idea of the story. From the students‟ answer, it could be seen that the students still made some mistakes in getting the main point of the story. Next, the researcher drilled the students‟ pronunciation with the guiding words on the worksheet. The researcher pronounced every word once and the students pronounced every word three times. All students obeyed the researcher‟s instruction. Next,
to
check
the
students
understanding
about
new
vocabulary, the researcher asked the students to write down some words and find the meaning of each word. After the students finished doing the task, the researcher asked the students to pronounce the words together. Some students were shy and afraid to speak loudly. They were afraid if they made a mistake. The researcher advised them that it was only a practice. Next, to know the students‟ understanding, the researcher asked the students to do the next task that is to fill in the blanks in some
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sentences with the words that were mentioned on the worksheet and answered the questions about the story. The story‟s title was “ Royal Spaghetti”. After finishing the task, the researcher and the students
discussed the answers of the task together. Some students were very enthusiastic to answer the question of the task. 3) Closing After finishing the task, the researcher reviewed the material. The researcher showed all the words to the students, then, the students pronounced and mentioned the meaning of the words. If they made a mistake, the researcher gave the students choice to choose the correct answer. Most students made a mistake in pronouncing the words. Next, the researcher had some reflection towards all the activities that had been done that day by asking the students‟ feeling and comment. The researcher asked “ how about your feeling today ?” The students answered, “very-very interesting”. Then, the researcher closed the lesson because the time was up. c. Third meeting 1) Opening The third meeting was conducted on April,
2010. The
researcher and the observer came to the class at 08.05 am. In the
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second meeting the researcher continued teaching the material by using short stories. To prepare the class, the researcher said “good morning” to the students. Then the teacher checked the students‟ attendance. No one was absent. Then, the researcher began the material by reviewing the last lesson and asked the students some questions dealing with the material that had been given in the second meeting. 2) Main Activity In the beginning of the lesson, all students focused on the lesson. The researcher used this chance to begin the main activity. In this main activity, the learning source used in teaching learning process was the same as before. The researcher passed a new worksheet for each student and asked the students to do the exercises. In this meeting, the students started the main activity by finding the correct words and their meaning. After five minutes, the researcher checked the answered with the students together. Then, the researcher asked some of students to read the story. The title was ”Rainbow”. There were some pronunciation mistakes done by the students. The researcher checked the students‟ pronunciation. After that, the students and the researcher discussed the story to get the main idea. The students felt easily to grasp the main idea of the text because they have translated some difficult words before.
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Next, the researcher asked the students to arrange the letters into a good word. Then, they were also asked to find the meaning of the words. They were very busy to discuss the correct arrangement of the letters with their friends. The students who had finished discussing the correct arrangement, then they wrote their answer in the whiteboard. From the students‟ answer, it could be seen that students still made mistakes in arranging the words. Then, the researcher and the students discussed the answer together. In the middle of the activity, the researcher changed the technique in introducing the new words to the students. The researcher used the synonym to introduce the words. The students looked very interested in the new task. The students tried to find the synonymy of the words by using their dictionary. After five minutes, the researcher asked some students to answer the questions and wrote the answers on the whiteboard. The researcher and the students checked the answers together. After checking the answer, the researcher asked the students to pay attention to some words, and then asked them to get the meaning of them. After that, the researcher asked the students to fill in the blanks in some sentences with the words that were mentioned on the students‟ worksheet. The title was “The Caliph and the Clown”. Next, the students and the researcher checked the answers together.
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After checking the answers, the researcher asked some students to read the story loudly. The researcher also asked the other students to pay attention to the text. Then, the students tried to grasp the main point of the story with the researcher. The students were enthusiastic in answering the question from the researcher. Some of them were very busy to remember some of the new words that they heard before and the other discussed with their friends to find the main idea of the story. On the last task of the third meeting, the researcher asked the students to discuss some of phrases from the story before. They were very busy to prepare the answer. Students who had finished discussing the answers, and then they wrote their answer on the whiteboard and then checked the answer with the researcher. 3) Closing In the end section, the researcher reviewed the material from the beginning. The researcher mentioned some difficult words and the students tried to guess the right pronunciation and the right meaning. The students pronounced every word three to four times. Next, the researcher had some reflection towards all the activities that had been done that day by asking the students‟ feeling and comment. The reseacher asked “ bagaimana pendapat kalian tentang pelajaran pada
hari ini?” The students answered,
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“menyenangkan bu. Banyak kosa kata baru dan gampang ingetnya”. Then, the researcher closed the lesson because the time was up. d. Fourth meeting 1) Opening The fourth meeting was conducted on April,
2010. The
researcher and the observer came to the class at 10.25 am. In the fourth meeting the researcher continued teaching the material by using short stories. To prepare the class, the researcher said “good morning” to the students. Then the teacher checked the students‟ attendance. No one was absent. Then, the researcher began the material by reviewing the last lesson and asked the students some questions dealing with the material that was given in the first and second meeting. The researcher distributed students‟ worksheet to the students for the fourth meeting. 2) Main activity Then, the researcher began the lesson by reading a story. The title was “The Magic Seeds”. The students listened curiously to the researcher‟s story. Sometimes they made an underline for some difficult words. Then, the researcher asked the students to make a pair of discussion. The researcher asked the students to discuss the story
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that they heard. Some of them were busy to remember the story and the other tried to grasp and write the meaning of some words. The next task, the researcher asked the students to write some words that they found in the story before. Then, they had to find the meaning of the words. After that, some of students wrote their difficult words on the whiteboard. Then, the researcher and the students checked the answer together. The researcher continued the lesson by drilling the students‟ pronunciations. The students pronounced the words three or four times. Next, the researcher asked the students to match the words with their antonyms. The students worked in pairs. Then, the students wrote the answers in the whiteboard. The researcher checked the answers. After that, the researcher asked the students ‟ ability in writing words. The students had to write some words they heard. The students wrote the answers on their worksheet. Then, the researcher also asked the students to find the meaning of the words. The researcher and the students discussed the answers together. Next, the researcher asked some of the students to read the story. The story‟s title was “The Owl and the Nightingale”. The researcher also asked the students to find some difficult words on the story. After five minutes, the researcher addressed some of the
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students to retell the story by their own words. The students already knew some words so it made the students easy to retell the story. The next task, the students had to find the hyponymy of some words based on the text that they ever read before. The students were very busy to find the answers. There are some students discussed the answers with their friends. For the last task, the researcher asked the students to answer some questions about the story. The students discussed with their friends. After 5 minutes, the researcher asked some students to write the students‟ answers and then checked the answers. 3) Closing After finishing the task, the researcher reviewed the material. The researcher showed all the words to the students. Then, the students pronounced and mentioned the meaning of the words three or four times. Next, the researcher had some reflection towards all the activities that had been done that day by asking the students‟ feeling and comment. The researcher asked “ bagaimana pelajaran dengan cerita pendek hari ini?” The students answered, “lumayan, Bu”. The
other students added “senang, bu. Tau arti katanya, jadi gampang nerjemahin bacaannya”. Then, the researcher closed the lesson because the time was up.
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e. Fifth meeting 1) Opening The fifth meeting was conducted on April,
2010. The
researcher and the observer came to the class at 10.25 am. In the fifth meeting the researcher continued teaching the material by using short stories. To prepare the class, the researcher said “good morning” to the students. Then the teacher checked the students‟ attendance. No one was absent. Then, the researcher began to teach the material by reviewing the last lesson and asked the students some questions dealing with the material that was given in the third meeting. Then, the researcher passed the student‟s worksheet for the f ifth meeting to the students. 2) Main activity For the first activity, the researcher asked the students to listen what the researcher pronounced and then write the answer on the students‟ worksheet. After that, the researcher asked the students to write the answers on the white board and discuss the answers together. Then, the researcher asked the student‟s to find the meaning of some words. They could find the meaning in the dictionary. After five minutes, the researcher checked the students‟ answer.
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Next, the students had to find the synonym of some words by matching the words in the column A to the column B. Some of the students tried to get the answer from the dictionary and the others were discussed. After 5 minutes, the researcher and the students checked the answer together. Then, the researcher addressed some students to pronounce some words that were mentioned by the researcher. The students pronounced the words three or four times. After that, the researcher asked some students to read the story and the other paid attention to their friends. The title of the story was “Why Bears Hibernate in the Winter”. The researcher also asked the students to write the difficult words that they found. After the students read the story, the researcher guided the students to find the meaning form the difficult words that they found. Then, the students tried to grasp the main idea of the story. The students felt happy because the story was very funny. Next, the researcher asked the students to arrange the jumble words into a good arrangement. The students worked in pairs. Some of the students worked with their dictionary and the other tried to get the answer from the short story that they read before. After 10 minutes, the researcher asked the students to write the answer in the whiteboard. Many students raised their hand to write their answer in the whiteboard. They enjoyed this material.
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For next material, the students were asked to read the story. The title was “The Necklace”. They had to grasp the main idea of the story individually then retold the story in their own words. All of the students were silent and did the instruction well. After 10 minutes, the researcher asked three of the students to retell the story. The other students paid attention to their friend who retold the story. Then, the researcher discussed with the students about the story that they heard. They felt happy with this teaching way. The last task, the researcher asked the students to discuss some of the phrases from the text. They worked in groups. After 5 minutes, the students wrote the answer on the whiteboard. 3) Closing After finishing the task, the researcher reviewed the material. The researcher repeated some difficult words to the students. Then, the students pronounced and mentioned the meaning of the words three or four times. Next, the researcher had some reflection towards all the activities that had been done that day by asking the students‟ feeling and comment. The researcher asked “ bagaimana pelajaran dengan cerita pendek hari ini?” The students answered, “menyenangkan,
Bu”. The other students added “senang, bu. Tau arti katanya, jadi gampang nerjemahin bacaannya”. The researcher did not forget to
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inform the students that in the next meeting the test would be done. Then, the researcher closed the lesson because the time was up. f.
Sixth meeting 1) Opening A post-test was conducted on April,
2010. The bell rang at
08.05 a.m. The researcher came to the class on time and greeted the students. After greeting the students, the researcher checked the students‟ attendance list. The researcher also asked about the students‟ preparation to face the post-test that would be done on that day. This post-test was aimed to know the students‟ improvement of vocabulary mastery. Then, the researcher explained about the rules of the test. After that, she passed the test worksheets to the students. 2) Main Activity The students did the test individually. They were not allowed to cheat in doing the test or to look for the answer on the dictionary. The test was the same with the pre test that was done before. The materials
were
such
as
understanding
meaning
of
words,
pronunciation of words, the use of words in context and spelling. 3) Closing After the test finished, the researcher discussed the answers of test with the students. All students were very active in discussing the
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answers with the researcher. All students paid attention with the discussion. No student was busy with his own business. Then, the researcher asked the students‟ feeling and comment during teaching learning process with the researcher. The researcher said thank you to the students for everything during the research. Then, the researcher closed the discussion because the bell rang. 3.
Observing and Monitoring the Action
In monitoring the implementation of this cycle, the researcher used observation to see the effects of conducting the cycle. The observation was conducted simultaneously when teaching learning process took place. In this cycle, there were six meetings. The first and the sixth meeting of the cycle were used for testing. Then the second to fifth meeting was focused on improving vocabulary aspects and students ‟ motivation in teaching learning process. The aspects that should be improved were meaning of words, the use of words in context, pronunciation of words, and spelling. In the teaching and learning process, short texts were used to make the way of grasping the meaning easier. Besides the explanation of implementing the actions above, the results of the observation of the teaching and learning process were also supported by the interviews with the students about the use of short texts in teaching vocabulary. From the observation results, it was known that there were some improvements on students‟ vocabulary. They were the mastery of
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meaning, spelling, pronunciation, and using words in context. Beside the students‟ improvements on vocabulary, the observation results explained the students‟ motivation and activities in teaching-learning process and student‟s motivation from the second to the fifth meeting. In the second meeting, the students looked happy and enthusiastic to attend the class. They paid attention to the lesson. No one was busy with their own business. The situation was conducive because there was no noisy outside the class. Some students were active to answer the questions from the researcher when the researcher gave them some question or asked them to do the exercises. All students did the task quite well. Some students tried to answer the questions of the task, the others were quiet. Although the students‟ motivation increased, some students were still passive. Some students were silent when the researcher asked the question to the students. Beside passive, most students were shy to speak loudly. They were afraid if their answers were wrong. To solve this problem, the researcher gave advice to the students that it was only a practice. In the third meeting, the students‟ motivation was good. They paid attention to the lesson. Their responses were good. The students also obeyed the researcher instruction. No students were busy with their own business in the class. All of them were seriously listened to the stories. They also did the task on their worksheet well.
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In the middle of the third meeting, the students‟ motivation increased. The students were happy and enthusiastic when the researcher changed the activity in introducing the new words. The researcher used synonymy technique in introducing the new words. It seemed that they had already understood about the term. In the third meeting, the students still had problem in pronouncing the word. It can be seen when the researcher asked the students one by one to check the students‟ understanding. They still made mistake to pronounce the right pronunciation. To solve this problem, the researcher asked the students to pronounce the word three or four times. In the fourth meeting, the researcher still used short stories for teaching learning process. Before starting the lesson, the researcher just reviewed all materials from the third meeting. Good atmosphere was created in the class. When the researcher asked the students to read the story and do the task, many students raised their hand. They were also enthusiastic when discussing with their friends. Sometimes they told each other about something else. So, the researcher went around the class to monitor and guide them whether they were active to discuss with their friends or not. In middle of the fourth meeting, the students asked to write some words on their worksheet. They could do the exercises well because there were some phonetic symbols that helped them to do the exercises. After that, the students were asked to fill in the blank sentences with the correct words.
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The students felt happy and enthusiastic doing this task because they knew all of the meaning of the difficult words by discussing with their friends and also looking for the dictionary. In the fifth meeting, the students were very active. It could be seen during the teaching-learning process. They listened what the researcher pronounced. They also could write the correct words that they heard. Most students were active and all students got attention to the lesson. In reviewing the materials, all students were active to grasp the meaning of every word. 4.
Reflecting the Result of the Observation
Based on the observation results which were gathered in field notes, the researcher reflected the results of the action as follows: a) the students who were still passive were getting more active and interested when they were reading and understanding the story, b) the students were able to grasp the meaning of words when the researcher gave them some new vocabularies, c) the students were able to write the words correctly and could use the words in context, d) the students were also able to pronounce the words correctly. Moreover, the test score in the first and sixth meeting showed the improvement result. The mean of the pre-test was 4.07, while the mean score of the post-test was 7.36.
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Based on the result of the observing and the test above, it could be seen that there were increasing students‟ motivation and also the aspects of vocabulary. All of the aspects were completed. The researcher concluded that teaching vocabulary using short texts attracted students‟ curiosity in knowing new words. Through short texts, students were encouraged to practice their ability in pronouncing and writing words correctly. Short texts also encouraged the students to be more active during teaching learning process. They became more motivated and enthusiastic in learning English which they did not tend to do something useless and got bored in the middle of teaching learning process. The improve ment of students‟ achievements in teaching learning process using short stories can be seen in the table 2. Table 2. Improvement of the Student s‟ Achievement in Teaching Learning Process Using Short Texts Source of the data
Observation and Interview
before implementing the action Vocabulary mastery
after implementing the action Vocabulary mastery
1. The students got 1. The students understood difficulties to understand and grasped the meaning of and grasp the meaning of words easily. They also words. They forgot words remembered the words and their meanings easily. easily. They also got difficulties They translated words from when they had to translate Indonesian into English or the words from Indonesian vice versa easily. into English or vice versa.
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2. The students could not pronounce the words correctly. They still made mistakes to pronounce the words.
2. The students pronounce most words correctly.
could of the
3. The students still made mistakes when they wrote words. For example when the students found a word which has double letters. Most of the students forgot to write the second letter. Most of the students also made mistakes when they did the exercises in arranging some letters into a correct word.
3. The students could write the words correctly. They also could arrange the letters into a correct word. There were no mistakes in writing the words
4. The students could only pronounce, understand, remember, grasp and use words in context about 25 % of them.
4. The students could pronounce, understand remember, grasp and use words in context about 7580 % of them.
Students‟ motivation
Students‟ motivation
1. The students were less interested during teaching learning process
1. The students were more active and enthusiastic during teaching learning process. They started to ask and answer the questions.
2. The students did not have full concentration during teaching learning process.
2. The students had more concentration to do the exercises.
3. The students liked doing something useless during teaching learning process
3. They did not do something useless during teaching learning process.
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Test
5.
4. The students did the exercises individually.
4. The students liked having discussion with their friends.
The mean score of pre-test : 4.07
The mean score of post-test : 7.36
Research Findings
From the table above, the students‟ improvement could be seen. The improvements were students‟ vocabulary mastery and also students‟ motivation. From the vocabulary aspects, the students understood and grasped the meaning of words easily; they could pronounce and write the words correctly. They could pronounce, understand, remember, grasp and use the words in context about 75 until 80 % of them. The examples were prince, daughter, dream, different, quarrel, sky, sea, chuckled, purple, captured, reason, freedom, etc. Then, the improvement also could be seen on the students‟ scores of test. There was an improvement of the mean score between the pre-test and post-test, from 4.07 to 7.36. Beside that, there was also an improvement of students who had scored more than the minimum standard score, in this case 60. The data of the students‟ score of pre-test and post-test showed that there was an improvement of students who achieved the minimum standard score, from 2.8 % of students became 94.3 % of students. It proved that there was a significant improvement of the students‟ scores. Then the difference between the pre-test and post-test scores was
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3.30; while the coefficient of the t-test between the pre-test and post-test was 19.29. Meanwhile, the t-table higher than
for 35 students is 2.04. Since
is
, it means that there is a significant difference between pre-
test and post-test score. Next, the students‟ motivation increased when the short text were used. The indicators showed that they were more active and enthusiastic during the teaching learning process. They asked more questions than before. They also raised their hands to answer the questions. Next, they had more concentration to do the exercises. They did not do something useless during teaching learning process and like having discussion with their friends. Considering the facts of some improvements dealing with teaching vocabulary by using short texts above, finally, the researcher decided to stop the cycle. There were some reasons for stopping this research only in one cycle. They were as follows: a) The aspects of vocabulary mastery were completed. The students understood and grasped the meaning of the words easily, they could pronounce the words correctly, they could write the words correctly, and they also could use the words in context appropriately. Beside the vocabulary mastery, the students‟ motivation also increased. They were more active and attractive during teaching learning process. They also had more concentration to the lesson; they did not do something useless
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during teaching learning process. They liked having discussion with their friends. The discussion helped them to understand the lesson and do the tasks well. b) There was an improvement of the mean score between the pre-test and post-test, from 4.07 to 7.36. From the pre-test and post-test score, there was also an improvement of students who had scored more than the minimum standard score, in this case 60, from 2.8 % became 94.3 %. c) The researcher only had limited time to conduct the research. The school gave two weeks to finish the implementation of the research. It was because the school would hold a mid term test for all the students.
C. Discussion
The research findings came from the observation and the test scores. The observation that was done showed that there were some improvements in students‟ vocabulary mastery aspects and students‟ motivation. At first from the students‟ vocabulary mastery, the students could understand, grasp, and remember the meaning easily. The students also could pronounce the words correctly. They also could use and write the words correctly. Here, the students did more practices and steps by steps in understanding, grasping, pronouncing, spelling, and using the words. They have their own worksheet that was completed with some short texts, so they could have more practices for enriching vocabulary mastery using short stories. It could be understood since human brain has limit
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capacity to absorb new things from surrounding. Human also has limit memory to remember all at once (www.ksmumail/human_brain. edu). Second from the students‟ motivation, the students, as the young learners, were more active and enthusiastic during teaching learning process. The students were more active and enthusiastic because the materials used were new materials. Then, the students had more concentration during teaching learning process. Ur (1998) explains that there are three sources of young learners‟ attention in class, namely pictures, story, and game. Young learners like to read and listen interesting stories. Beside the new materials, there were also many kinds of interesting techniques used to teach short texts. It made the students enjoy, more active and enthusiastic to follow the teaching learning process. According to Linse (2005), teachers of English to young learners, should know the techniques of teaching practically for example “listen and repeat”, read and write”, “listen, say, and write”, question and answer”. Petty, and Jensen (1980: 285) also states that teaching English to children needs special techniques. The best way to add breadth and depth to child‟s vocabulary is by providing a variety of opportunities for new and interesting experience. Next, the situation in the class before implementing the action was described as some students were busy with themselves, especially the students at the back. They did some useless activities, such as talking with other students or disturbing their friends. After implementing the action, the class situation became more active and enthusiastic. They focused on the materials which were used
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through short texts. It matches with Elli‟s theory. According to Elli (1991:31), vocabulary in story is presented in clear context and the amusing situation. The amusing situation could make students become more enthusiastic. Maya K. David also states that one indicator which makes teaching learning process succeed is the active students during teaching learning process. They are active if they are suitable with the teacher‟s technique and they are far from teacher pressure (www.david399.htm).
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CHAPTER V CONCLUSION, IMPLICATION, AND SUGGESTION
A. Conclusion
Having conducted the research of teaching vocabulary by using short texts in Junior High School, the researcher comes to a conclusion that teaching vocabulary by using short texts can improve the students‟ vocabulary. This is based on the facts found in accordance with the result of the action implemented to find answers to the problem statements. The more detailed results of the action implemented in this research were as follows. The first is about the enrichment of the students‟ vocabulary mastery of the second year of SMP 5 Sukoharjo in the academic year of 2009/2010. Based on the analysis of the result of the implementation of the actions which had been conducted to improve the students‟ vocabulary, it can be seen that the implementation of teaching vocabulary by using short texts can effectively improve students‟ vocabulary. It could be seen from the aspects of vocabulary which are completed. First, the students could understand and grasp the meaning easily. They also could remember the meaning of the words easily. Second, the students could pronounce the words correctly. Third, the students also could wr ite the words correctly. For example, in arranging the jumble letters, they could rearrange the letters into a correct word. Fourth, the students could pronounce,
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understand, remember, grasp and use the words in context about 75 -80 % of them correctly. Next, there was an improvement of the mean score between the pre-test and post-test, from 4.07 to 7.36. Beside that, there was an improvement of students who had scored more than the minimum standard score, in this case 60. The data of the students‟ score of pre-test and post-test showed that there were more students who achieved the minimum standard score, from 2.8 % became 94.3 % of students. It proved that there was a significant improvement of the students‟ scores. The difference between the pre-test and post-test scores was 3.30; while the coefficient of the t-test between the pre-test and post-test was 19.29. Meanwhile, the t-table than
for 35 students is 2.04. Since
is higher
, it means that there is a significant difference between pre-test and post-
test score. The second is about the students‟ motivation. The researcher found a good atmosphere in the class. The students were more active and enthusiastic during teaching learning process. There were so many students who raised their hands to answer the question on the whiteboard or oral answer. Most of the students gave more attention than before. Next, they had more concentration to do the exercises. They did not do something useless during teaching learning process. They also liked having discussion with their friends.
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B.
Implication
Based on the conclusion of the study, there is a significant improvement of students‟ vocabulary and improvement of students‟ learning activity after teaching used short texts to teach new vocabulary and to train the students in order to write and pronounce correctly. It implies that using short texts are good material to improve students‟ vocabulary mastery and also improve students‟ learning activity during teaching learning process. The short texts made the students easier in understanding the form and the meaning of the words. Through short texts, students were also encouraged to practice their ability in reading, writing and pronouncing correctly. In teaching English using short texts, the teacher should choose appropriate techniques, materials, and media. It is conducted by English teacher to make the students‟ more interested and more active in teaching-learning process and to avoid the boredom. The teacher could use “listen and repeat”, read and write”, “listen, say, and write”, question and answer”. Then, the teacher also can use the visual techniques such as mime and gesture and verbal techniques such as verbal explanation, synonyms and definition, antonyms in teaching vocabulary to the students. The students suggest using dictionary in translating the words. The teacher can also conduct an oral test to make the students more motivated and attracted in teaching-learning process. Beside the appropriate techniques, the teacher should have to choose the appropriate materials and media to teach vocabulary. The material in this case is
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short texts. The short texts have to contain new and old information to the students. The genre that is used is narrative. It is suitable with the material that used in the second year of junior high school. The materials have to appropriate with the syllabus that used in that school. The students can find the difficult words and their meaning, and then make analyses of the stories by their own words. It makes the students understand the stories well. By implementing short texts using appropriate techniques and materials, there is an improvement of students‟ vocabular y mastery of the second year of SMP 5 Sukoharjo in the academic year of 2009/2010.
C. Suggestion
After carrying out the researcher and obtaining the conclusion, the researcher would like to propose some suggestion directed to the English teacher, students, other researcher, and for school. 1.
English teacher
The English teachers should learn the characteristics of the students in order to know exactly what they need and what problems they faced on their development. By understanding those points, the teacher could choose the most suitable method, techniques, and materials in improving the students‟ motivation in learning English based on certain condition. Besides, the English teachers should create an interesting and enjoyable situation of teaching learning process. Students will be easy in
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learning when the situation is interesting for them and the students will more enthusiastic. It also would avoid the boredom. 2.
Students
An instructional process will not be successful if students are not maximally involved in it. The students have to be more active and motivated to learn English. The students not only can study English in the class but also can study everywhere and every time. They can practice English in their daily life. 3.
Other researcher
This study is just one of efforts in improving students‟ vocabulary. It is expected that the finding of this study will be used as a starting point of the future research on similar problems. There are many other method, techniques, and materials of teaching English of Junior High School students that can be taken as objects of research to find out the effectiveness of teaching. 4.
School
The institution should state a policy in improving the quality of the teaching English for children. It should encourage the English teacher to be creative to use various method, techniques or materials. It should also be facilitated with various media supporting the teaching activity.
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