CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Rationale

English still becomes difficult subject for students. The difficulties in

gaining English can be caused by many factors, one of them is teaching

method that teachers use to conduct teaching language in the classroom.

Choosing certain method in teaching English should be suited with the goal

of teaching learning process. The suitable method will result better

achievement.

The method in delivering information to the students is important

factor of success in teaching learning process. The teachers way in

conveying information influences students achievement, therefore the

important thing is how the teachers are able to convey information by

teaching method that is easy for them to gain materials. The right method

will facilitate them to achieve the materials.

Learning English in schools still emphasizes on written aspect. This

condition causes students ability to speak in English is not well enough.

This case still as a problem in teaching English. Language is

communication, therefore teaching learning process of English should gives

wider chance for them to communicate using English.

Speaking is the most difficult skill for students, and it is classical

problem that the teachers face in the classroom, so they need to apply right

1
 method to improve students speaking skill. There are various methods in

teaching speaking such as Communicative Language Teaching, Naturalistic

Study, Contextual Teaching and Learning, and Collaborative Learning

Model.

Communicative Language Teaching can be applied using Role Play.

Role Play is a drama technique that involves adopting a specific role. It

gives opportunities for students to practice and use their English in real

conversation. Role play helps them become clear and confident speakers. It

requires the participation of every student in the classroom. Besides, Role

Play gives the students opportunities to explore and learn about roles and

responsibilities of others. So, it encourages thinking and creativity, lets

students develop and practice new language and behavioral skills, and can

create the motivation and involvement necessary for learning to occur.

Based on the background above, the writer is interested in conducting

an Action Research in order to improve students speaking skill using Role

Play to the ninth grade students of MTs. Walisongo Ulujami in Academic

Year 2011/2012.

1.2 Review of Related Literature

The reasons in choosing this topic such as :

a. It is difficult for the students to speak using English

b. Language is communication, so ability in speaking English is needed to

support capability in communication.

2
 c. One indicator of achievement in learning English is the students are able

to communicate in English well.

d. This method gives wider chance for the students to communicate in

English.

1.3 Research Questions

a. How to apply Role Play to improve students speaking skill of The Ninth

Grade Students of MTs. Walisongo Ulujami in Academic Year 2011/2012?

b. Is use of Role Play able to improve students speaking skill of The Ninth

Grade Students of MTs. Walisongo Ulujami in Academic Year 2011/2012?

1.4 Objectives of The Study

Based on the background above, in general the objective of this study

is to improve students achievement in English using role play, whereas the

specific objectives of this study are:

a. To design role play in improving speaking skill of the ninth grade

students of MTs. Walisongo Ulujami.

b. To apply role play in improving speaking skill of the ninth grade

students of MTs. Walisongo Ulujami.

c. To improve and enhance the strategy and learning quality in teaching

speaking using role play of in the ninth grade students of MTs.

Walisongo Ulujami.

3
1.5 Significances of The Study

The study is expected to give following significances:

1. For the teachers

This study is able to improve quality of learning especially in English

learning of the ninth grade students of MTs. Walisongo Ulujami on class

A and D.

2. For the students

This study can improve students speaking skill in order to improve their

achievement in English.

3. For MTs. Walisongo Ulujami

The result of this study can be a suggestion and consideration in

motivating the teachers to carry out English learning process using Role

play.

1.6 Scope and Limitation

Based on the objectives of the study, I am going to limit the study

on application of Role Play in teaching speaking of the ninth grade students

of MTs. Walisongo Ulujami especially in the ninth grade A, B.

There are many definitions about Action Research. According to

Mills (2011) states that is defined as any systematic inquiry conducted

4
 by teachers, administrators, counselors, or others with a vested interest

in the teaching and learning process or environment for the purpose of

gathering information about how their particular schools operate, how to

teach, and how their students learn.

More important, action research is characterized as research that

that is done by teachers for themselves. It is truly a systematic inquiry

into ones own practice (Johnson, 2008).

Meanwhile Corey (1953) explained that action research is

undertaken by practitioners in order that they may improve their

practices1.

5
 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

2.1 Teaching Method

2.1.1 Method

Method is the practical realisation of an approach. The originators of a

method have arrived at decisions about types of activities, roles of teachers

and learners, the kinds of material which will be helpful, and some model of

syllabus organisation. Methods include various procedures and techniques as

part of their standard fare2.

2 Harmer Jeremy, 2003, The Practice of English Language Teaching, Pearson Education Ltd,
Edinburgh

6
 According to Anthony (1963) that method is an overall plan for the

orderly presentationof language material, no part of which contradicts, and all

which is based upon, the selected approach. An approach is axiomatic, a

method is procedural. Within one approach, there can be many methods.

In Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary of Current English the

method is defined as a particular way of doing something.

2.1.2 Approach, Procedure, and Technique

Sometimes people assume approach, method, procedure, and

technique with similiar meaning, but actually these terms have different

meaning. These terms, thought somewhat vague, are definable:

Approach refers to theories about the nature of language and language

learning that serve as the source of practices and principles in language

teaching. An approach describes how language is used and how its

constituent parts interlock-in other words it offers a model of language

competence. An approach describes how people acquire their

knowledge of the language and makes statements about the conditions

which will promote successful language learning3. According to

Anthony (1963) that approach is a set of correlative assumptions

dealing with the nature of language teaching and learning.

Procedure is an ordered sequence of techniques. For example, a popular

dicatation procedure starts when students are put in small groups. Each

3 Harmer Jeremy, 2003, The Practice of English Language Teaching, Pearson Education Ltd,
Edinburgh

7
 group then sends one representative to the front of the class to read

(and remember) the first line of a poemwhich has been placed on a desk

there. Each student then goesback totheir respective group and dictates

that line. Each group then sends a second student up to read the second

line. The procedure continues until one group has written the whole

poem.

Technique is implementational-that which actually takes place in a

classroom. It is a particular, stratagem, or contrivance used to

accomplish an immediate objective. Techniques with a method, and

therefore in harmony with an approach as well.

From the explanations above, I can conclude that an approach can be many

methods, in a method can be many procedures, in a procedure may be many

techniques.

2.1.3 Communicative Language Teaching Method

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) Method or Communicative

Approach is the name which was given to a set of beliefs which included not

only a re-examination of what aspects of language to teach, but also a shift in

emphasis in how to teach4.

The what to teach aspect of the CLT stressed the significance of

language functions rather than focusing solely on grammar and vocabulary. A

4 Harmer Jeremy, 2003, The Practice of English Language Teaching, Pearson Education Ltd,
Edinburgh.

8
guiding principle was to train students to use these language forms

appropriately in a variety of context and for a variety of purpose.

The how to teach aspect of the CLT is closely related to the idea that

language learning will take care of it self, and that plentiful exposure to

language in use and plenty of opportunities to use it are vitally important for a

students development of knowledge and skill. Activities in CLT typically

involve students in real or realistic communication, where the accuracy of the

language they use is less important than successful achievement of the

communicative task they are performing.

2.1.4 Classroom Activities in Communicative Language Teaching

One of the goal of CLT is to develop fluency in language use. Fluency

is natural language use occuring when a speaker engages in meaningful

interaction and maintains comprehensible and ongoing communication

despite limitations in his or her communicative competency. Fluency is

developed by creating classroom activities in which students must negotiate

meaning, use communication strategies, correct understanding, and work to

avoid communication breakdowns.

Fluency practice can be contrasted with accuracy practice, which

focuses on creating correct examples of language use. Differences between

activities that focus on fluency and those that focus on accuracy can be

summarized as follows:

a. Activities focusing on fluency

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 - reflect natural use of language

- focus on achieving communication

- require meaningful use of language

- require the use of communication strategies

- produce language that may not be predictable

- seek to link language use to context

b. Activities focusing on accuracy

- reflect classroom use of language

- focus on the formation of correct examples of language

- practice language out of context

- practice small samples of language

- do not require meaningful communication

- control choice of language

Many other activity types have been used in CLT, including the

following:

a. Task-completion activities: puzzles, games, map-reading, and other kinds

of classroom tasks in which the focus is on using ones language resources

to complete a task.

b. Information-gathering activities: student-conducted surveys, interviews,

and searches in which students are required to use their linguistic resources

to collect information.

c. Opinion-sharing activities: activities in which students compare values,

opinions, or beliefs, such as a ranking task in which students list six

10
 qualities in order of importance that they might consider in choosing a date

or spouse.

d. Information-transfer activities: these require learners to take information

that is presented in one form, and represent it in a different form. For

example, they may read instructions on how to get from A to B, and then

draw a map showing the sequence, or they may read information about a

subject and then represent it as a graph.

e. Reasoning-gap activities; these involve deriving some new information

from given information through the process of inference, practical

reasoning, etc. For example, working out a teachers timetable on the

basis of given class timetables.

f. Role play: activities in which students are assigned roles and improvise a

scence or exchange based on given information or clues.

2.1.5 Principles of Communicative Language Teaching

The principles of Communicative Language Teaching such as :

a. Whenever possible, authentic language is used in a real context

should be introduced.

b. Being able to figure out the speakers or writers intentions is part of

being communicatively competent.

c. The target language is a vehicle for classroom communication, not

just the object of study.

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d. One function can have many different linguistic forms. Since the

focus of the course is on real language use, a variety of lingusitic

forms are together. The emphasis is on the process of communication

rather than just mastery of language forms.

e. Students should work with language at the discourse or

suprasentential (above the sentence) level. They must learn about

cohesion and coherence, those properties of language which bind the

sentences together.

f. Games are important because they have certain features in common

with real communicative events- there is a purpose to the exchange.

Also, the speaker receives immediate feedback from the listener on

whether or not he or she has successfully communicated. In this way

they can negotiate meaning. Finally, having students work in small

groups maximizes the amount of communicative practice they

receive.

g. Students should be given an opportunity to express their ideas and

opinions.

h. Errors are tolerated and seen as a natural outcome of the development

of communication skills. Since this activity was working on fluency,

the teacher did not correct the student, but simply noted the error,

which he will return to at a later point.

i. One of the teachers major responsibilities is to establish siatuations

likely to promote communication.

12
 j. Communicative interaction encourages cooperative relationships

among students. It gives students an opportunity to work on

negotiating meaning.

k. The social context of the communicative event is essential in giving

meaning to the utterances.

l. Learning to use language forms appropriately is an important part of

communicative competence.

m. The teacher acts as a facilitator in setting up communicative activities

and as an advisor during the activities.

n. In communicating, a speaker has a choice not only about what to say,

but also how to say it.

o. The grammar and vocabulary that the students learn follow from the

function, situational context, and the roles of the interlocutors.

p. Students should be given opportunities to listen to language as it is

used in authentic comminication. They may be coached on strategies

for how to improve their comprehension.

2.2 Teaching Speaking

2.2.1Principles of Teaching Speaking

According to Bailey (2005) states that the three main reasons for getting

students to speak in the classroom are:

- to provide students with practice in using English in real life situations

- to inform the teacher and the students about the students progress.

13
 - to get information about the students speaking problems5.

2.2.2Tips for Teaching Speaking

The goal of teaching speaking is to get students to communicate

effectively and efficiently and efficiently. In order to achieve this goal, the

teacher should:

- make sure that students use the language to the best of their ability.

- teach students correct pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary.

- explain to students the appropriate context of the communication.

Effective and efficient communication is the result of providing

enough language input (Harmer, 1998). The teacher can accomplish this by

using English when giving instructions, giving simple commands (such as

get out your math books), reading passage out loud, etc. Other English

activities such as playing games, singing songs, performing a role play, etc,

give the students opportunities to communicate in English. As teachers

consider including varied speaking activities in the classroom, they may find

the following tips useful:

- help students to become familiar with the topics. Personalize the content

to motivate students, elicit what they already know about the topic, and

let them share their knowledge with the class.

5 Diptoadi Veronica Listyani, Becoming a Creative Teacher A Manual for Teaching English to
Indonesian Elementary Students, Regional English Language Office, Jakarta.

14
 - put students into pairs or groups. Working cooperatively in groups is

more motivating and less intimidating for the students. Group work also

promotes choice, independence, and creativity.

- rearrange the classroom. If it is not possible to move desks and chairs, get

the students to walk around as they perform tasks.

- give students the English word and its Indonesian translation when they

are learning new vocabulary. This strategy gives the students a language

reference and helps themn understand. Once students understand the

meaning of the word, the teacherand students can resume using the

English word.

2.2.3Speaking Activities

Many types of speaking activities can be included in lessons, including the

following6:

a. Recitation

Students choose a short poem or rhyme and recite it in class. This activity

can be donre individually, in pairs, or in groups.

b. Pronunciation Drills

Students repeat correct pronunciation in chorus and individually. This

activity helps students practice and remember the vocabulary as well as

the pronunciation.

c. Choral Reading

6 Diptoadi Veronica Listyani, Becoming a Creative Teacher A Manual for Teaching English to
Indonesian Elementary Students, Regional English Language Office, Jakarta.

15
 Students read a short sentence or passage together. As the students read,

the teacher can listen for students pronunciation and give corrections

when the activity ends.

d. Role Play

Students are given particular roles in an imaginary situation to act out.

The teacher can give the students the dialogues or helpn them prepare

their own dialogues for the roles.

e. Storytelling

The teacher can tell a story, adjusting the language to the students level,

or read a story aloud without adjusting the language. Students can be

asked to share their experiences with the class, to retell their favorite

story, or to create an ending to a story that the teacher tells.

f. Songs

Students listen to a song and learn the lyrics. Adding physical movements

to the song creates a fun environment and helps the students learn

pronunciation, vocabulary, and meaning of words.

g. Questionnaires

Students ask their classmates a set of questions in order to complete a

questionnaire. The result of their surveys can be checked by the teacher

or discussed together.

2.3 Role Play

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 2.3.1Defenition of Role play

Role Play is drama technique that involves adopting a specific role

such as car mechanic or shop assistant. The individual enganged in role play

does the things that a person carrying out that role would do. They may dress

as that person and use real or replica objects familiar to that person7.

According to Jack C. Richards (2006) states that Role Play is activities

in which students are assigned roles and improvise a scence or exchange based

on given information or clues8.

2.3.2Benefits of using Role play

Role play and drama are extremaly valuable techniques for second or

foreign language teaching. Some benefits young learners may gain from role

playing are as follows9:

a. Drama and role play provide young language learners opportunities to

practice and use their English in real conversations. Through such

activities, English is taught in the context inwhich it will be used. This

will develop students awareness of the language as a means of

communication.

7 Diptoadi Veronica Listyani, Becoming a Creative Teacher A Manual for Teaching English to
Indonesian Elementary Students, Regional English Language Office, Jakarta.

8 Richars Jack C, 2006, Communicative Language Teaching Today, Cambridge University Press,
New York

9 Diptoadi Veronica Listyani, Becoming a Creative Teacher A Manual for Teaching English to
Indonesian Elementary Students, Regional English Language Office, Jakarta.

17
b. The conversational use of language is an ESL play script promotes

fluency. While learning a play, children listen to other students lines

and respond by speaking their own lines. By repeating the words,

phrases, and sentences, they become familiar with them and are able to

say them with increasing fluency.

c. Drama and role play help the children become clear and confident

speakers. They allow children to pronounce words properly and to

project their voices when they speak.

d. When the children are acting out or watching other students

performances, they have to listen to the lines, see the actions, observe

the stage properties, create movement and use expressions. These

activities address young lerners different learning styles.

e. Role play and drama require the participation of every student in the

classroom. Students contribute their intellegence, imagination,

creativity, and emotions. By encouraging self-expression, drama

motivates children to use language confidently and creatively.

f. Role play gives young learners opportunities to explore and learn about

the roles and responsibilities of others, such as policemen, farmers,

teachers, etc.

g. Role play allows children to express their emotions, both positive and

negative, in appropriate ways.

h. Role play allows each student to explore his/her own self-image and

identity and helps to build self-esteem.

18
 i. Drama and role play are ideal for children in classrooms with various

language levels. Children whose language skills are still very limited

can be given fewer lines. They can communicate using nonverbal cues

such as body movements and facial expressions. On the other hand,

those who are more advanced can have more lines and use more verbal

language.

2.3.3Steps to creat and perform a Role Play

In order to create a successful role play, a teacher should carefully

follow some steps. Kotchigova (2002) suggested steps for creating a role play.

The following is a modified series of these steps 10:

a. Selecting an Appropriate Situation

The first step for creating a Role Play is to choose an appropriate

situation. When selecting a situation, the teacher must consider

students needs and interests and determine the language points of

functions to be praticed. The teacher should provide an appropriate

context for the students to practice what they have learned. Depending

on the language abilities of the students, the teacher can list common

situations in stuydents daily lives, such as going to the library or

watching a movie with friends and help students brainstorm scenes

that can provide different Role Play situation.

b. Designing Role Play Based on Students Language Skills

10 Diptoadi Veronica Listyani, Becoming a Creative Teacher A Manual for Teaching English to
Indonesian Elementary Students, Regional English Language Office, Jakarta

19
 At this stage, the teachers need to come up with ideas on how the

situation may develop. For low intermediate and more advanced

levels, Role Plays with problems or conflictswork very well because

they motivate the characters to talk. For beginners, Role Play that

display daily activities are appropriate.

c. Predict the Language Needed

After the appropriate Role Play is selected, the teacher should adjust

the language to the students will use in the Role Play and preteach

some new vocabulary and grammar. For example, a teacher may ask

students a question, such as when someone needs directions, what

will he ask?. The response may then be listed on the board.

d. Factual Preparation

This step deals with giving instructions, information, and clear role

descriptions to the students. Its puspose is for increasing students

confidence in playing the roles. For example, in a situation at a

restaurant, the person who plays the role of a waiter or waitress should

have relevant information: a menu and price list. A teacher may also

provide cue cards containing any other information needed for the

Role Play.

e. Assigning the Roles

The teacher can let students choose their roles or can assign the roles

to students in advance.

f. Practice the Role Plays

20
 Students can practice in pairs or in small groups. After they have

played their own roles a few times, students can exchange roles.

Students can play different roles and practice all of the lines in the

Role Play. When students are confident enough to demonstrate or

perform in front of the class, the teacher can ask them to do so for

their classmates.

g. Modify the Situations and Dialogues

Once students have finished and become familiar with an original

Role Play situation, they can modify the situation and/or dialogue to

create their own variations of the original Role Play.

h. Follow-up

Once the students have finished and become familiar with an original

Role Play, a teacher should spend some time on evaluation. The

teacher and the students discuss what has happened in the Role Play

and what they have learned. Huang (2008) suggested that student

evaluations should include oral and listening tests related to the Role

Plays. Oral tests can include the following:

Students are asked to answer some simple questions relating

to the Role Plays.

Students are asked to recreate the Role Plays.

Students are asked o translate the Role Plays into their native

language.

21
 CHAPTER III

METHOD OF INVESTIGATION

3.1 Location of The Study

The study is conducted in MTs. Walisongo Ulujami Pemalang, because

I am a teacher at this school and I want to improve my students speaking

skill.

3.2 Subject of The Study

The subject of the study are the students of the ninth grade A and grade

B of MTs. Walisongo Ulujami in first semester in Academic Year 2011-2012.

3.3 Research Design

According to Kurt Lewin that in action research consists of four

components: a) planning, b) actuating, c) observing, and d) reflecting. The

study will be conducted for two cycles.

Planning

Reflecting Actuating

Observing

22
 Figure 1.1 Classroom Action Research Kurt Lewin Model

3.3.1 Action Process of first cycle

3.3.1.1 Planning

In this step, I will conduct several activities below:

1. Studying core materials of English of the ninth grade students.

2. Determining cycles of the study
3. Fixing the schedule of the study.

4. Constructing Lesson Plan for English using Role Play in teaching

learning process

5. Preparing sources and media for teaching learning English using

Role Play

6. Preparing questions and students worksheets

7. Preparing observation worksheets to observe teaching learning

process based on Role Play.

8. Preparing evaluation sheets to know the progress of students

achievement.

3.3.1.2 Actuating

1. Opening activities
a. Delivering the objectives of learning.
b. Doing apperception by question-answer to relate the last

material to the material that will be learned

2. Core activities

a. The teacher explains about the short functional text

23
 b. The teacher divided students into groups based on the various

skills.

c. The teacher proposes problems that relate to the short

functional text to be solved.

d. The teacher gives chance to each group to deliver temporary

answer from the problems.

e. The teacher doing question-answer with the students to discuss

the truth of students answer from each group.

f. The teacher guides the students to take conclusion about short

functional text.

3. Closing activities

a. The teacher asks the students to practice dialogue

b. The teacher checks the students performance

c. The teacher concludes the material

3.3.1.3 Observing

Observing activities of the students and the teacher in

learning English about short functional text, and finding out the result

of Role Play in improving students speaking skill.

3.3.1.4 Reflecting

After learning process in first cycle, I am going to do several

activities below:

24
 1. Observing the result of observation

2. Analyzing the result of learning

3. Improving the weakness of learning for the next cycle

If the application of Role Play in first cycle does not show

significant result, so the research will be conducted for second cycle

until achieve the significant result that I want.

3.4 The Procedure of The Study

There are four procedures in conducting action research:

a. Selecting a focus

Including three steps:

- Knowing what I want to investigate

- Developing some question about the area I have chosen.

- Establishing a plan to answer these questions.

b. Collecting data

- Narrowing my focus to specific area of concern

- Developing some research questions.

- Planning to answer the questions.

c. Analyzing and interpreting data

- Analyzing and interpreting data in order to get some decision.

d. Take action

- Continuing the science program that I am going to decide

25
3.5 Method of Collecting Data

To collect the data in doing this study, I am going to use observation as

method to obtain them. In this study, I am as an observer-participant.

3.5.1 Test Technique

In collecting data using observation method, I am going to use sets of

tests as technique to obtain data about students activities in answering the

tests in teaching learning process of English using Role Play.

3.5.2 Non-test Technique

There are three steps that I use in doing observation:

1. Meeting of planning. In this step, I am going to determine the lesson plan

that will be applied in the study. The discussion includes how to deliver

material, and how I begin to collect data using observation.

2. Classroom observation. In this step I am going to observe toward learning

process that involve students, condition of classroom, interaction between

teacher and students, interaction between them, and other aspects that

relate to action research.

3. Feedback discussion. I am going to study the result of observation to be

field notes.

26
3.6 Instrument of The Study

3.6.1 Test Technique

Checklist Observation of Students Activities

Test Number Amount

No Name
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 Irfan
2 Bachdim
3 Bambang
4 Pamungkas
5 Lionel
6 Messi
7 Ronaldo

Figure 3.1 Checklist Observation of Students Activities

3.6.2 Non-test Technique

Checklist Observation of Students Activities

Giving
Time Praising Criticizing Probing Questions
Direction
Minute 1
Minute 2
Minute 3
Minute 4
Minute 5
Minute 6
Minute 7
Minute 8
Minute 9
Minute 10
Minute 11

Figure 3.1 Checklist Observation of Students Activities

27
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Hornby AS, 2005, Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary of Current English,

Oxford University Press, New York.

Richars Jack C, 2006, Communicative Language Teaching Today, Cambridge

University Press, New York.

Jeffrey Glanz.1998. Action Research: An Educational Leaders Guide to School

Improvement. Christopher-Gordon Publiser, Inc: Noorwood.

Harmer Jeremy, 2003, The Practice of English Language Teaching, Pearson

Education Ltd, Edinburgh.

28
Diptoadi Veronica Listyani, Becoming a Creative Teacher A Manual for Teaching

English to Indonesian Elementary Students, Regional English Language

Office, Jakarta.

Richars Jack C, 2006, Communicative Language Teaching Today, Cambridge

University Press, New York.

THE PROPOSAL OF ACTION RESEARCH

IMPROVING STUDENTS SPEAKING SKILL USING ROLE PLAY

(The Case in The Ninth Grade Students of MTs. Walisongo Ulujami in

Academic Year 2011/2012)

29
 By

Achmad Hibatullah

08.0002.I

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION FACULTY

PEKALONGAN UNIVERSITY

2011

30