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THESIS
IMPROVING STUDENTS’ WRITING SKILL OF NARRATIVE TEXTS
BY USING SHORT VIDEOS
(A Classroom Action Research at the Eighth Grade Students of SMP
Negeri 2 Temanggung in the Academic Year of 2009/2010)
By:
NUNUN INDRASARI
NIM K2206027
This thesis is submitted to fulfill the requirement for Undergraduate Degree in
English Department Teacher Training and Education Faculty
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION FACULTY
SEBELAS MARET UNIVERSITY
SURAKARTA
2010
ii
ABSTRACT
Nunun Indrasari. K2206027. IMPROVING STUDENTS’ WRITING SKILL OF NARRATIVE TEXTS BY USING SHORT VIDEOS (A CLASSROOM ACTION RESEARCH AT THE EIGHTH GRADE STUDENTS OF SMP NEGERI 2 TEMANGGUNG IN THE ACADEMIC YEAR OF 2009/2010). Thesis, Surakarta: Teacher Training and Education Faculty of Sebelas Maret University, May 2010.
This research aims to find out whether short videos can improve students’ writing skill and how far the short videos can improve students’ writing skill at the eighth grade students of SMP Negeri 2 Temanggung. It is also aimed to find out the strengths and weakness of using short videos in the writing class.
The approach used in this research is a classroom action research. The action research was conducted in two cycles, in which in the first cycle there were 4 meetings and in the second cycle there were 3 meetings. Every cycle consisted of four steps; planning, implementing, evaluation, and reflection. In collecting the data, the researcher used observation, questionnaires, interviews, field notes, photographs, and tests. The tests were conducted before the action (pre-test) and after the action (post-test). The researcher analyzed the mean score of each test to find out the improvements of students’ writing skill after the action was conducted.
The result of the research shows that there are positive improvements in either students’ writing skill or the class situation during the teaching learning process. It can be seen from the result of the test which is improved, from the comparison between the pre-test conducted before the action and the post-test conducted after the action. The mean scores of the test result are 68.22 for the pre-test, 75.58 for the post-test in cycle 1, and 78.31 for the post-test in cycle 2. By watching the videos, the students get the stimulus about certain topics so that they can easily construct and generate the ideas into a narrative story based on the video given. They can also arrange better paragraphs based on the generic structure of narrative text. From the t-test computation in the students’ test score, it is showed that the improvement of the students writing skill by using short videos is significant. The t-test computation between the pre-test and the post-test 2 was 8.77. Meanwhile, the t table (tt) for 34 students is 2.04. Since (to)2 is higher
than tt, it means that there is a significant difference between the score in the pre-test and post-test 2.
Some strengths of using short videos in teaching writing which could improve the students’ attitude towards writing in the writing class situation during the teaching learning process were: the students were more motivated in joining the writing class, the videos present the attractive moving pictures and sounds so that they got feeling of relax before they wrote their story, they paid much attention when the videos were played, they were also more confident when they were asked to write individually. However, a weakness of using short videos in writing class was a few students still got difficulties in finding appropriate words with the correct spelling.
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This thesis has been approved to be examined by the board of the Thesis
Examiners of the Teacher Training and Education Faculty of Sebelas Maret
University as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Undergraduate
Degree of Education in English.
On :
By :
Consultant I Consultant II
Dr. Abdul Asib, M.Pd Teguh Sarosa, S.S., M.Hum
NIP 19520307 198003 1 005 NIP 19730205 200604 1 001
iv
This thesis has been examined by the board of the Thesis Examiners
of the Teacher Training and Education Faculty of Sebelas Maret University
of Surakarta and has been accepted to be one of the Requirements
for the Completion of Undergraduate Degree of Education in English
on 2010
Board of Examiners:
1. Chairman : Drs. Muh. Asrori, M.Pd. NIP. 19601015 198702 1 001
2. Secretary : Endang Setyaningsih, S.Pd, M.Hum NIP. 19800513 200312 2 002
3. Examiner 1 : Dr. Abdul Asib, M.Pd NIP. 19520307 198003 1 005
4. Examiner 2 : Teguh Sarosa, S.S, M.Hum NIP. 19730205 200604 1 001
Teacher Training and Education Faculty
Sebelas Maret University
The Dean,
Prof. Dr. M. Furqon Hidayatullah, M.Pd
NIP. 19600727 198503 1 002
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MOTTO
And then a hero comes along
With the strength to carry on
And you cast your fears aside
And you know you can survive
So when you feel like hope is gone
Look inside you and be strong
And you'll finally see the truth
That a hero lies in you
(picked up from “Hero” by Mariah Carey)
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DEDICATION
This thesis is dedicated to:
1. My beloved Mom and Dad, thanks for your
care and prayer for me every where and every
time.
2. My elder sister and my little brother who give
me cheers in my life.
3. My luphie who always motivate me to be a
better person.
4. All my best friends in English Department,
Marching Band UNS, and B-One House.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Praise be to Allah the Almighty who has given His blessing so that the
writer can finally finish this thesis as a partial fulfillment in achieving the
Undergraduate Degree of English Education.
The writer realizes that this thesis could not be achieved without the help
and assistance from others. Therefore, in this occasion the writer would give her
appreciation to the individuals and institutions who have given their help during
the process of writing so that this thesis is finally finished. She would like to
express her deepest gratitude to the following:
1. Prof. Dr. M. Furqon Hidayatullah, M.Pd, the Dean of Teacher Training
and Education Faculty.
2. Drs. Suparno, M.Pd, the Head of the Art and Language Education
Department.
3. Drs. Martono, M.A, the Head of the English Department of Teacher
Training and Education Faculty.
4. Dr. Abdul Asib, M.Pd, as the writer’s first consultant for his guidance
and advice.
5. Teguh Sarosa, S.S., M.Hum, as the writer’s second consultant for his
guidance and advice.
6. Indrotomo, M.Pd, the Headmaster of SMP Negeri 2 Temanggung for
facilitating the writer in doing the research.
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7. Bening Angga Dita, SS, the English Teacher of class VIII F for his
collaboration in doing this research.
8. All of the students in class VIII F SMP Negeri 2 Temanggung for
participating well in this research.
9. Her beloved Mom and Dad for their caring, love, and sincerity; her
elder sister and younger brother for this cheers and beautiful life; her
special person for accompanying her to understand the real life and
who always gives her spirit when she was down.
10. Her lovely friends in the English Dept’06. Thanks for accompanying
her with this beautiful moment in this last four year.
11. Her dearest friends in Marching Band UNS who have given fun
memories in her life and made her stronger. Thank you very much for
this wonderful challenge. This would never be forgotten. UNS JAYA!!!
12. Her beloved friends in kost Barokah 1 who always accompany her in
fun and sadness. Thanks for this friendship.
13. The last, thank you very much for every one who has ever played role
in her story of life.
Surakarta, May 2010
Nunun Indrasari
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TABLE OF CONTENT
TITLE..................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
ABSTRACT .......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.i
APPROVAL.........................................................iiError! Bookmark not defined.
LEGALIZATION .................................................................................................. iv
MOTTO ...................................................................................................................v
DEDICATION ..................................................... vError! Bookmark not defined.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .................................. viError! Bookmark not defined.
TABLE OF CONTENT ......................................................................................... ix
LIST OF APPENDICES ..................................... xiError! Bookmark not defined.
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ............................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
A. Background of the Study ............................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
B. Limitation of the Problem ...............................................................................7
C. Problems Statement .........................................................................................7
D. Objective of the Research ...............................................................................8
E. Benefits of the Study .......................................................................................8
CHAPTER II REVIEW TO THE RELATED STUDY.........................................10
A. Review on Writing ........................................................................................10
1. Writing Skill ...............................................................................................10
2. The Stages in Writing ................................................................................11
3. Techniques for Generating Ideas ............... Error! Bookmark not defined.
x
4. The Purpose of Writing .............................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
5. The Aspects and Micro Skills of Writing .. Error! Bookmark not defined.
6. Criteria for Good Writing .......................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
7. The Problems of Writing............................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
8. Teaching Writing .......................................................................................19
9. Overview of Narrative Writing .................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
10. Construct of Writing Skill ........................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
B. Review on Video ...........................................................................................29
1. The Nature of Media ..................................................................................29
2. Videos as Teaching Media .........................................................................32
C. Teaching Writing by Using Videos ............... Error! Bookmark not defined.
1. Techniques in Teaching Writing by Using Videos ....................................36
2. The Importance of Improving Writing Skill by Using Video ....................38
D. Rationale .......................................................................................................38
E. Hypothesis .....................................................................................................40
CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ..................................................41
A. The Method of the Research .........................................................................41
B. Setting of the Study .......................................................................................43
C. The Subject of the Study ............................. 4Error! Bookmark not defined.
D. Models of the Research .................................................................................45
E. Procedures of the Research ............................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
F. Technique of Collecting Data ........................................................................49
G. Instruments ....................................................................................................50
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H. Technique of Analyzing Data .......................................................................52
CHAPTER IV RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ............................55
A. Introduction ...................................................................................................55
B. Research Findings .........................................................................................56
C. Discussion .....................................................................................................75
CHAPTER V CONCLUSION, IMPLICATION, SUGGESTION ........................80
A. Conclusion.....................................................................................................80
B. Implication.....................................................................................................82
C. Suggestion .....................................................................................................83
BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................85
APPENDICES .......................................................................................................88
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LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendix 1. Syllabus .............................................................................................88
Appendix 2. Lesson Plans ....................................................................................101
Appendix 3. List of Students’ Name ....................................................................123
Appendix 4. Researcher’s Field Note ..................................................................124
Appendix 5. Observer’s Field Note .....................................................................144
Appendix 6. Students’s Pre-test and Post-test Scores ..........................................150
Appendix 7. T-test Computation ..........................................................................168
Appendix 8. Samples of Students’ Questionnaires ..............................................175
Appendix 9. Data Analysis of Students’ Questionnaire ......................................185
Appendix 10. Photographs ...................................................................................186
Appendix 11. Drafts of Students’ Interview ........................................................190
Appendix 12. Research Diaries ............................................................................202
Appendix 13. Samples of Students’ Worksheets .................................................205
Appendix 14. Letters of Permission .....................................................................233
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
Nowadays, in modern society, English becomes more important as a
means of communication. Thus, it has been taught to the students since they were
in elementary school. Students have been introduced to English language in the
earlier stages because it is considered that English is an important language in
society as a part of knowledge and skills which can help in attaining of
satisfactory professional life later on.
Teaching English in early stage of schooling is very important. Brewster
(1992: 23-24) states the reasons of starting to learn a foreign language earlier.
First, teaching English for children is aimed to increase the total number of years
spent learning the language. Second, the indisputable fact that young child has a
greater facility for understanding and imitating what they hear than adolescent.
Third, the aim of early foreign language learning is to prepare children
linguistically, psychologically, and culturally for language learning.
Based on ‘Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan’ (KTSP) that is declined
in 2006, teaching and learning English in high school should be based on the
stress of four language skills, those are listening, speaking, reading and writing. It
is expected that students can use these skills to prepare them in the higher
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education level and even in the field of work that demands them to understand
English in communication.
In teaching learning English at school there should be language practice in
each language skill, including writing skill. Writing will help students master the
other skills and of course in mastering English completely. Sometimes students
are afraid and shy to express their ideas in speaking but they can tell what they
want to say by writing it down on a paper before speaking. Then, the students
themselves or possibly the reader will understand it. While, there are still some
English teachers who haven’t given attention to this case completely. However,
English writing, as a basic language skill for students, should get close attention.
According to Elite Olshtain in Celce (2001:207), writing as a
communicative activity needs to be encouraged and nurtured during the language
learner’s course of study. This opinion is strengthened by Raimes who gave the
reasons for teaching writing: “We frequently have to communicate with each
other in writing” and “Writing reinforces grammatical structures, idioms, and
vocabulary.” Teaching writing is “a unique way to reinforce learning” (1983:3).
Reid also states that writing itself is a form of learning, and that writing processes
and rhetorical context for writing are crucial (1993:49). So, it is obvious that
writing is an essential language reinforcing skill and a crucial ability because it
becomes a means of learning, discovering, developing, and refining language
ability. Through writing, the students become involved with the new language,
trying to express their ideas and use eyes, hand, brain constantly as a unique way
to reinforce learning.
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In fact, in some cases, writing tends to be a neglected area in English
language teaching at school. It seems that competent writing was frequently
accepted as being the last language skill to be acquired both for native speaker of
the language and for foreign/second language learners at school. Teaching
learning process held in a classroom is more concerned at acquiring the other
skills.
The researcher did preliminary class observation to find the problem in
class VIII F SMP N 2 Temanggung. Based on the observation, the researcher got
the data of the students’ problem. The students had a problem in writing a text
because they learnt writing without using a good approach and treatment. They
were just asked to write a composition based on the topic that had been prepared
in the text book. Sometimes, the students didn’t understand a certain instruction of
a text for example the generic structure of the text, purposes and the language
feature of the text. Organization of the text, generating ideas, language use,
content of writing, and vocabulary still become the difficulties faced by the
students.
Some factors that cause the students to have low proficiency in writing are
the students themselves rarely write in English and the teachers don’t facilitate
them well to develop their writing skill in classroom activities.
The teachers tend to give the students tasks of making composition as
homework to measure the students’ ability since writing is considered a learning
activity which spends much time when it is conducted in a classroom. Teachers
spent little or no time teaching the students how to write. They expected their
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students to plan and compose their assignments outside of class. It means the
students have a little practice in writing at school. However, the students tend to
do writing only if they have been asked by their teachers. Even, when the teachers
have asked their students to make a composition outside of class, they don’t do
any corrections or evaluation on students’ assignment in classroom. Sometimes
the students only got a certain mark of their writing without knowing the strengths
and the weaknesses of their compositions so that they don’t know how to improve
their writing to be a better one.
Another factor that causes the problem in students’ writing is the
motivation and interest of the students. Writing seems to be a boring activity,
indicated by the responses of the students when they have been asked to write a
composition.
Based on the questionnaires which had been filled in by the eighth grade
students of SMP Negeri 2 Temanggung, the researcher finds out some problems
dealing with writing skill:
1. There were 23.5% students disliked English writing class, 3% students
greatly disliked English writing, 64% said neutral, and only 8.8% students
liked English writing.
2. There were 55.6% students who still found it difficult to generate ideas into
composition. Only 8.8% students agreed that generating ideas was easy. The
rest students said neutral.
xvii
3. No student agreed that making a composition needs a short time. 76.47%
students still needed very long time in composing paragraphs. The rest
students said neutral.
Based on the questionnaires, it can be seen that the low motivation in
English class, especially English writing, still occurred in the eighth grade
students in SMP Negeri 2 Temanggung. They also feel that English writing is a
difficult lesson.
The varieties of teaching learning English writing accomplished by the
teachers also influence the students’ achievements of writing. When the teachers
use inappropriate or monotonous techniques in teaching writing, the students can
be bored and unmotivated to learn. It directly influences the product of students’
achievement of writing. Somehow, teachers play an important role in teaching
learning process and responsible on the students’ achievements in English. To
motivate the students to think critically and creatively in facing the learning
problem is also the duty of teachers.
Considering that writing is an important role in language learning, it
should be given primary attention in the instructional process. In this case, it is
very beneficial for English teachers to develop their teaching learning process in
such a way by helping students improve their writing skill. Here, the teachers are
demanded to find an appropriate technique which is capable to meet the learner’s
need to improve their writing skill. In KTSP, the teachers are recommended to use
the teaching methods in which the students can use the language skills in
communication actively and oblige the teachers to be facilitators. The roles of
xviii
being facilitators are guiding and assisting the students to take a part in teaching
learning process.
There are many various techniques that can be used by the teachers to help
the students in organizing the ideas and lessen their boredom in writing. The
teaching learning process can be facilitated by some teaching media. Media are
very important in teaching learning process. They help the teacher as a means of
communication to convey the message more concretely and also motivate the
students in learning English. One of the media that can be used in teaching
English writing is video. The use of video in a classroom can guide the students’
activities in an interesting way. Video provides information to eyes and ears, so
students can see communication in action (Edge, Julian.1993:58). Video can
present language in a lively way. Thus, it can increase the interest and motivation
of the students. Video can also be used as a means of communication. A video
sequence used in class makes students more ready to communicate in the target
language.
Starting from the problems arising in teaching English writing and the
students’ achievements of writing which are unsatisfactory, the researcher wants
to conduct a research entitled “Improving Students’ Writing Skill of Narrative
Texts by Using Short Videos”. This teaching learning uses integrated teaching
with focuses on teaching writing. The researcher wants to investigate whether the
teaching model by using video can achieve the goal of teaching writing better.
The researcher in conducting the action put the target on the eighth grade students
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in SMP N 2 Temanggung with students’ purpose of writing to be able to make a
composition better than before.
B. Limitation of the Problem
In avoiding deviation from the topic, the researcher focuses the study on
improving writing skill of the eighth grade students of SMP Negeri 2
Temanggung by using short videos. The writing skill that is observed in this
research is limited in generating ideas and organization of the text. The text type
used is narrative text.
C. Problems Statement
Based on the background above, the problems that come up in this study
are formulated as follows:
1. Can short videos improve writing skill of narrative texts at the eighth
grade students of SMP Negeri 2 Temanggung?
2. To what extent do short videos improve writing skill of narrative texts
at the eighth grade students of SMP Negeri 2 Temanggung?
3. What are the strengths and the weaknesses of using short videos in
teaching writing?
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D. Objective of the Research
The objectives of the research are:
1. To find out whether or not short videos can improve students’ writing
skill.
2. To find out how far videos can improve students’ writing skill.
3. To find out the strengths and the weaknesses of using short videos in
teaching writing.
E. Benefits of the Study
The result of the study is expected to be able to give some contributions
for the teachers, the students, and the researcher. The following are the significant
contributions of the study:
1. For the Teachers
Through this study, it is expected that the teacher will get more
information about writing and its problems during teaching and
learning process in writing. Besides, this study is expected to give an
alternative technique in teaching writing.
2. For the Students
This study is expected to make the students aware about the
importance of writing, both in the study at school and in the real life. It
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also gives the students an effective technique in learning writing.
Finally, it is expected that the students can improve their writing skill.
3. For the Researcher
This study is expected to become a starting point to develop the
teaching techniques in the future in order to create a better teaching
learning process.
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CHAPTER II
REVIEW TO THE RELATED STUDY
A. Review on Writing
1. Writing Skill
Writing is one of important skills that language learners need to learn
as an essential component not only for their academic practice but also later in
their professional life. Writing can be defined in various ways. There are some
definitions of writing proposed by experts.
Byrne (1997:1) says that on one level, writing can be said to be the act
of forming symbols; making marks on a flat surface of some kind. Graphic
symbols here include letters or combinations of letters that relate to the sound
people make when they speak. The symbols have to be arranged, according to
certain conventions, to form words, sentences, and/or paragraph. But actually
writing is more than the production of graphic symbols. He also states that
writing involves the encoding of a message of some kind; that is translating
thoughts into language.
In addition, Hadfield (1990:v) says that writing is an artificial activity
in a way that speech is not. While Enre (1988:13) defines that writing is a
process of thinking systematically, so that what is being written can be easily
understood.
xxiii
Olshtain in Celce-Murcia (2001:207) defines writing as an act of
communication which takes place between the writer and the reader via the
text in an interactive process.
According to Olson (1982:4), someone is writing when she puts her
thoughts and feeling into words and puts those words onto paper. Olson also
states that writing is more than that; however, those thoughts on paper must
make sense to someone else, in this case, the reader.
From the definitions of writing above, it can be concluded that writing
is an act of putting the thoughts and feeling into a set of signs or symbols and
putting them onto paper which can be understood by the reader.
Meanwhile, skill is defined by Hornby (1995:1109) as the ability to do
something well. According to Webster (1981:2133) skill means technical
competence without insight or understanding or the ability for further
elaboration or development.
To conclude, writing skill is the ability to put the thoughts and feeling
into a set of signs or symbols and put them onto paper which can be
understood by the reader.
2. The Stages in Writing
Hamp-Lyons (1987:135) states that there are three stages in the
process of writing, those are pre-writing, writing, and rewriting.
a. Pre-writing
Pre-writing stage generally involves the writer in choosing a topic,
or, if the topic has been assigned, in thinking about the topic and deciding
xxiv
on a way to respond to it, and selecting the appropriate ideas and
information to use in a response. The pre-writing stage should be very
active, with discussion of the topic area to make sure everyone has
something to write about.
In planning, students involve the activities, such as reading,
viewing the video, mind mapping, discussing, fast writing, questioning,
encourage them before they write their sentences in the first draft. In this
stage the teacher can use some media to brainstorm the learners about a
topic in order to integrate the ideas which will be drafted to their writing.
By this way, students would get motivation to write because they feel that
they have something matter to say.
b. Writing
Writing is the stage where actually the writer makes a draft of their
writing based on the pre-writing stage that they have done before. S/he
finds the right words and concentrates more on what they want to say
through paper. S/he also needs to arrange the draft in such way that the
reader can follow his/her thought easily. The content might be written
without considering the grammatical aspect first.
c. Rewriting
Rewriting is the final stage and essential to successful writing.
Rewrite draft includes editing and proofreading. The editing process is
really an extension of the writing stage, involving the students in taking a
xxv
critical look at their writing in order to be sure that the written product, the
outcomes of the writing process, is as they intended it to be.
In this stage, the students review a draft to check content and
organization based on the feedback from him or herself and teacher or
peers. The teacher helps the students through the revision to shape and
reshape the text into final form, and it’s focused more on organization,
content of writing, sentence structures.
Proofreading simply means re-reading the text and correcting
minor errors such as miss-spelling, verb tense consistently and
punctuations. The students check their final text for some mistakes they
have made.
3. Techniques for Generating Ideas
It is necessary for the students to know the techniques for generating
ideas before they start writing. In pre writing stage, the students are required to
find out what topic that they would write down so that they have something to
say through paper. Ruggiero (1981:24-28) states about three techniques for
generating ideas. Those are as follows:
a. The Brainstorming Approach
Brainstorming was developed by an American industrialist, Alex
Osborn. The theory was that one idea would stimulate another, and those
two ideas a third, and so on, eventually producing a valuable insight or
solution to a problem that might not otherwise have been expressed.
xxvi
b. Imaginary-Dialogue Approach
The imaginary-dialogue approach requires that one see the subject
through someone else’s eyes. Naturally, it is impossible to enter other
people’s perspectives totally.
c. The Background-Reading Approach
The background reading approach consists of getting factual
information to stimulate and direct the writer’s thinking. This is what
actually the students do in generating ideas in this research. The students
would get the stimulus from what they watch in the video. They get a
matter to think and then put their thinking into writing.
4. The Purpose of Writing
McMahan, et al. (1996: 8) mentions the purposes of writing as
follows:
a. To express the writer’s feeling
The writer wants to express his feeling and thought through the written
form, as in a diary or a love letter. It is what is so called as expressive
writing.
b. To entertain the readers
The writer intends to entertain the reader through written form, and he
usually uses authentic materials. It is called as literary writing.
c. To inform the readers
It is used to give information or explain something to the readers. It is a
kind of informative writing.
xxvii
d. To persuade the readers
The writer wants to persuade or convince the readers about his opinion or
concept or idea. It is called as persuasive writing.
In addition, Byrne (1997:2) in his book “Teaching Writing Skill” said
about the purpose of writing: “it is helpful to keep in mind some of the many
uses we are likely to make of writing”. On a personal level, people use writing
to make a note of something, for example shopping list, diaries, etc., and used
to keep records of things to be remembered. Writing is also used to send
messages in the forms of letters, memos, and many kinds of writing to deliver
the messages from one to others.
5. The Aspects and Micro Skills of Writing
Writing involves many different aspects. According to Gower (1995),
the aspects of writing are as follows:
a. Handwriting
The writing should be easily read by the readers. The neatness and
legibility is important in writing.
b. Spelling
Spelling means the writing of a word accepted in standard order. In second
language learning, errors spelling are often found.
c. Punctuation
A certain mark to clarify meaning by grouping grammatical units the
written material.
xxviii
d. Sentence construction
The construction of sentences that is grammatically correct, using the
correct word order.
e. Organizing a text and paragraphing
It involves dividing the information into paragraphs, starting a new
paragraph, and ordering the paragraphs to present a logical order.
f. Text cohesion
The appropriate use of linking words and phrases so that the organization
of the text is clear to the reader.
g. Register / style
Using language (structures and vocabulary) appropriate to the formality
and style of the text.
In addition, there are some micro skills involved in writing. The writer
needs to:
a. Follow conventions of spelling, punctuation and capitalization.
b. Use an acceptable core vocabulary and appropriate word order.
c. Use acceptable grammatical systems (i.e. tense, agreement), patterns and
rules.
d. Express a particular meaning in different grammatical forms, with a
variety of sentence structures.
e. Use cohesive devices in written discourse.
f. Use the rhetorical forms and conventions of written discourse.
xxix
g. Appropriately accomplish the communicative functions of written texts
according to form and purpose.
h. Convey links and connections between events. Communicate such
relations as main ideas, supporting ideas, new information, given
information, generalization and exemplification.
i. Correctly convey culturally specific references in the context of the written
text.
j. Develop and use a battery of writing strategies, such as accurately
assessing the audience’s interpretation, using pre-writing devices, using
paraphrases and synonyms, soliciting peer and instructor feedback and
using feedback, for revising and editing (http://newterra.chemeketa.edu).
6. Criteria for Good Writing
Fachruddin Ambo (1988:8) in his book “Dasar-Dasar Ketrampilan
Menulis” states about the good writing: “tulisan yang baik ialah tulisan yang
dapat berkomunikasi secara efektif dengan pembaca kepada siapa tulisan itu
ditujukan.”
Enre (1988:9-11) also states the criteria for good writing as follow:
a. Meaningful
Good writing must be able to convey something in which it is meaningful
to someone and can give the evidences about what it’s said.
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b. Clear
It can be said as a clear writing if the intended reader can read in constant
speed and catch the meaning. Clear writing shouldn’t have been simple,
but mustn’t be more difficult than the situation as it ought to be.
c. Coherent
Other characteristic of good writing is coherent, it means that the
information is clearly connected and arranged. It has been organized
systematically so the reader can follow the composition easily.
d. Economic
If the main purpose of the writer is giving information, s/he should avoid
pleonasm. In a good writing, the words used are appropriate, and the
sentences are clear, concise, emphatic, and correct. So, it doesn't waste the
reader's time by veering away from focus without reason.
e. Cohesive
It means that the writing doesn't contain tons of grammar or spelling
errors. It uses appropriate grammatical patterns, substitution, elliptical
construction, preposition, conjunctions to relate among the clauses within
paragraphs.
7. The Problems of Writing
For most people, writing is considered as a difficult activity, both in
the mother tongue and in a foreign language. There are three heading
problems which are caused by writing according to Byrne (1997:4-5):
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a. Psychological Problems
Writing is essentially a solitary activity and the fact that people
are required to write on their own draft, without the possibility of
interaction or the benefit of feedback, in itself makes the act of writing
difficult. Writers have no immediate feedback to let them know how
they are doing and whether they should change their approach. There
is no immediate interaction between the producer and the receiver.
b. Linguistics Problems
Different from oral communication, the language used in
written language is either simplified (list, telegram, note, etc.) or more
elaborate, more formal. In a foreign language this process is all the
more difficult as there may be interference on a cultural level, not just
the linguistics, between mother tongue and the foreign language.
c. Cognitive Problems
Writing is learned through process of instruction. The written
form of the language and certain structures, which are less used in
speech, should be mastered and learned. The way to organize the ideas
is also important for effective communication which has to be learned
in writing.
8. Teaching Writing
Writing is considered as the language skill which is least to be
acquired. However, the teaching learning of writing skill in classroom has a
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little portion and even tends to be slighted. In fact, writing has some important
roles in human life; either in academic purposes or in other aspect of life.
a. Reason for Teaching Writing
The most important reason for teaching writing is that it is a
basic language skill. Byrne (1997:6-7) gave the reasons of teaching
writing in the early stages. Writing serves a variety of pedagogical
purposes as follows:
1) The introduction and practice of some forms of writing enables
the learners to provide for different learning styles and needs.
Some learners, especially those who do not learn easily through
oral practice alone, feel more secure if they are allowed to read
and write in the language. For such students, writing is likely to be
an aid to retention, if only because they feel more at ease and
relaxed.
2) Written work serves to provide the learners with some tangible
evidences that they are making progress in the language. It is not
likely to be a true index of their attainment, but it satisfied a
psychological need.
3) Exposure to the foreign language through more than one medium
appears to be more effective than relying on a single medium
alone.
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4) Writing provides variety in classroom activities. It increases the
amount of language contact through work that can be set out of
class.
5) Writing is often needed for formal and informal testing.
b. Approaches in Teaching Writing
There are some varieties of approaches in teaching writing
which can be conducted by the teacher in classroom.
1) The Controlled-to-Free Approach
This approach stresses three features of grammar, syntax,
and mechanics. It emphasizes accuracy rather than fluency or
originality. The controlled-to-free approach in writing is
sequential: students are first given sentence exercises, then
paragraphs to copy or manipulate grammatically by, for instant,
changing questions to statements, present to past, or plural to
singular. They might also change words or clauses or combine
sentences. They work on given material and perform strictly
prescribed operations on it.
2) The Free-Writing Approach
The emphasis in this approach is that intermediate-level
students should put content and fluency first and no worry about
form. Teachers begin by asking students to write freely on any
topics without worrying about grammar and spelling. There is only
minimal correction of error. Teachers just simply read the pieces of
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free writing and perhaps comment on the ideas the writer
expressed, or ask students to read aloud to the class. Concern for
“audience” and “content” are seen as important in this approach,
especially since the free writings often revolve around subjects that
the students are interested in, and those subjects then become the
basis for other more focused writing task.
3) The Paragraph-Pattern Approach
The paragraph-pattern approach stresses feature of
organization. This approach is based on the principle that in
different cultures people construct and organize their
communication with each other in different ways. So even if
students organize their ideas well in their first language, they still
need to see, analyze, and practice the particularly “English”
features of a piece of writing.
4) The Grammar-Syntax-Organization Approach
This approach links the purpose of a piece of writing to the
forms that are needed to convey the message. Writing task is
devised in order to lead the students to pay attention to
organization while they also work on the necessary grammar and
syntax.
5) The Communicative Approach
The communicative approach stresses the purpose of a
piece of writing and the audience for it. Student writers are
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encouraged to behave like writers in real life and to ask themselves
the crucial questions about purpose and audience: “Why I am
writing this?” and “Who will read it?”
Teachers using the communicative approach, therefore,
have extended the readership. They extend it to other students in
the class, who not only read the piece but actually do something
with it, such as respond, rewrite in another form, summarize, or
make comments.
6) The Process Approach
In the process approach, the students do not write on a
given topic in a restricted time and hand in the composition for the
teacher to “correct” which usually means to find the error. Rather,
they explore a topic through writing, showing the teacher and each
other their drafts, and using what they write to read over, think
about, and move them on to new ideas. Teachers who use the
process approach give their students two crucial supports time for
the students to try out ideas and feedback on the content of what
they write in their drafts. They find that then the writing process
becomes a process of discovery for the students: discovery of new
ideas and new language forms to express those ideas.
The teaching writing approach which is conducted in this
research is based on teaching free writing approach. The students’
writing was emphasized in content of the story, and only little
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correction in grammar. The students were expected to be able to
express their ideas, generate the ideas fluently and organize them into
good composition.
c. Teaching Writing in SMP
Based on the Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan 2006 for
SMP and MTs, the program of teaching learning English as a foreign
language focuses on the aims to develop students’ skill in four
language skills. The students are expected to achieve competencies to
communicate orally and written by using suitable language variation,
fluently, and accurately in interaction or monologue in the form of
descriptive, recount, narrative, procedure, and report.
The teaching purpose conducted by the teacher should be based
on syllabus of Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan 2006 for SMP
and MTs. The expected learning outcomes outlined for the students of
the seventh, eighth, and ninth grade on the writing skill are as follows:
1) Seventh grade: the students are able to (1) write simple functional
sentences, (2) write simple message, short and simple
announcement, and card, (3) produce text in the form of a
procedure and descriptive.
2) Eighth grade: the students are able to (1) write among others texts
in the forms of a narrative, descriptive, and recount. (2) write
personal letter, post card, invitation card, leaflet, and
announcement.
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3) Ninth grade: students are able to (1) write texts in the form of
narrative, procedure, and report, (2) write short message, letter,
advertisement, and announcement.
9. Overview of Narrative Writing
There are some approaches in teaching writing; one of them is genre
based approach. The use of genre approach in solving the problem in students’
writing, particularly in generating ideas and organization is very effective
way. According to Hartono (2005:4) the term “genre” is used to refer to
particular text-types, not to traditional varieties of literature. It is a type or kind
of text, defined in terms of its social purposes; also the level of context dealing
with social purposes.
Based on the communicative purpose, Pardiyono (2007:93-98)
classifies the text into eleven types, they are; description, recount, narration,
procedure, explanation, discussion, exposition, news item, report, anecdote,
and review. However in this study, the text will be focused on the narrative
text.
Narrative text is a text which says the past activities or event which
concerns on the problematic experience and resolution in order to amuse and
even give the moral messages to the reader.
The generic structure of narrative text are orientation; stating the topic
of an activity or event which will be told, sequence of events; presenting the
story about the past activities or events which has the chronological of
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conflicts and resolutions; resolution; stating the problem solving, and coda;
concluding in order to give the moral values.
According to Hartono (2005:7), the language features used in narrative
text are:
a. Focus on specific participants.
Narrative text focuses on the story of certain participant or
character.
b. Use of past tense.
Tenses used in narrative text is past tense, because it tells
about a story happened in the past. The formula of past tense is
S + V2 … or S + to be (was/were)...
c. Use of temporal conjunction.
The examples of temporal conjunction are: first, finally,
then, when, next, last, before, etc.
d. Use of material (or action) processes.
Material process relates to the physical action done by the
participants. The examples of materials process are:
The water flows. Participant process
e. Use of mental process.
Mental process relates to the verbs which indicate the
participants’ feeling, thinking, and perceiving, for example:
Mr. Setiawan is satisfied with his new car. Senser mental phenomenon
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10. Construct of Writing Skill
Based on the explanation above, it can be concluded that writing is an
act of putting the thoughts and feeling into a set of signs or symbols and
putting them onto paper which can be understood by the reader.
Writing skill is the ability to put the thoughts and feeling into a set of
signs or symbols and put them onto paper which can be understood by the
reader.
Writing has some micro skills that should be comprehended by the
students in learning writing. These are some of them:
a. Reasoning
In their writing, the students should communicate such relations as main
ideas, supporting ideas, new information, given information,
generalization and exemplification.
b. Communication
The students should appropriately accomplish the communicative
functions of written texts according to form and purpose. They should also
use an acceptable core vocabulary and appropriate word order.
c. Organization
The students should convey links and connections between events. They
should write a composition in logical order (beginning, middle, and
ending) according to a certain function of text.
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d. Convention
In writing a composition, the students should follow conventions of
spelling, punctuation and capitalization and use acceptable grammatical
systems (i.e. tense, agreement), patterns and rules.
The following are the criteria of scoring writing:
Table 1. The Scoring Writing Narrative Rubric
Aspects 6-10 11-15 16-20 21-25
Reasoning Only a few
simple ideas
Use simple
ideas
Developed ideas
well developed,
interesting ideas
very few
supporting
details
some
supporting
details
sufficient
supporting details
many descriptive
details
Communi-
cation
Unclear
purpose
The purpose is
somewhat clear
Clear purpose
Clear purpose
and engaged the
reader
Limited
vocabulary
some
vocabulary
a wide variety of
vocabulary
extensive
vocabulary
Simple
sentences
a limited
variety of
sentences
a variety of
sentences
a wide variety of
sentences
Organization
Has no clear
beginning,
middle, or
ending
Shows some
evidence of a
beginning,
middle, and
has a clear
beginning,
middle, and
ending
flows smoothly,
progressing
logically from the
beginning to the
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ending
middle to the
ending
unconnected
ideas and
details and
have no
paragraph
structure
includes ideas
and details that
are somewhat
connected with
paragraphs
has sentences that
are linked
together in
paragraphs
has sentences that
are clearly
organized in
paragraphs
Convention Several
grammar,
spelling and
punctuation
errors or
omissions
unsatisfactory
visual
presentation
several minor
grammar,
spelling or
punctuation
errors
and omissions
satisfactory
visual
presentation
Only a few
grammar,
spelling
or punctuation
errors or
omissions
good visual
presentation
practically no
grammar,
spelling or
punctuation
errors
or omissions
excellent visual
presentation
(www.durham.edu.on.ca)
B. Review on Video
1. The Nature of Media
a. The Definition of Media
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According to Sumantri (2001:153), “Media Pengajaran atau
Pembelajaran adalah segala alat pengajaran yang digunakan oleh guru
sebagai perantara untuk menyampaikan bahan – bahan instruksional dalam
proses belajar mengajar sehingga memudahkan mencapai tujuan
pengajaran tersebut.” So, media is used in teaching learning as a means to
convey the instructional materials to reach the objectives more easily.
Furthermore, Sadiman (2002:6) says his opinion about media:
“Media berarti perantara atau pengantar pesan dari pengirim pesan kepada
penerima pesan.” Media can be regarded as a mean to deliver the message
from the giver to the receiver.
From the definition above, media can be defined as a means of
communication used to convey the information from the giver to the
receiver. Related to teaching and learning, media is meant by a means of
communication used in the teaching learning process to convey the
information such as teaching materials from the teacher to the students so
that the students will be more interested in taking part in the lesson.
b. Kinds of Media
So many kinds of media have been invented in this modern life.
They can be used for helping the teacher convey the materials easier to the
students in teaching learning process.
xliii
Arsyad (2004:29) says that media is instructional component
including message, person, and tool. In its development, teaching media
have been influenced by the development of technology. Arsyad differs
the teaching media based on technology development into some kinds.
“Berdasarkan perkembangan teknologi tersebut, media pembelajaran dapat dikelompokkan ke dalam empat kelompok, yaitu (1) media hasil teknologi cetak, (2) media hasil teknologi audio-visual, (3) media hasil teknologi yang berdasarkan komputer,(4) dan media hasil gabungan teknologi cetak dan komputer” (Arsyad, 2004:29)
According to Arsyad, it can be concluded that teaching media can
be classified into four kinds; those are printed media, audio-visual media,
computer media, and printed-computer media.
In addition, Seels and Glasgow in Arsyad (2004:33-34) classified
media into two categories:
1) Traditional Media
a.) Projected Visual (OHP, slides, filmstrips)
b.) Un projected Visual (picture, poster, photograph, chart,graphic,
diagram)
c.) Audio
d.) Multimedia presentation (slide with audio, multi-image)
e.) Dynamic Projected Visual (film, television, video)
f.) Printed media (text book, module, workbook, magazine, hand-
out)
g.) Games (crossword, board)
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h.) Real thing (model, specimen, manipulative-mannequin)
2) Technology Media
a.) Telecommunication-Based Media
b.) Microprocessor-Based Media
c. The Advantages of Media
Media is very helpful in teaching language learning. It helps the
teachers motivate the students by bringing a slice of real life into the
classroom and by presenting language in its more complete
communicative context. Media also provides information such as cultural
input which is impossible to be brought its real things in classroom. Celce-
Murcia (2001:461) states about the advantages of using media in language
learning:
a. Media serves as an important motivator in the language teaching
process.
b. Audiovisual materials provide students with content, meaning, and
guidance. They thus create contextualized situation within which
language items are presented and practiced.
c. Media materials can lend authenticity to the classroom situation,
reinforcing for students the direct relation between the language
classroom and the outside world.
d. Media provides a way of addressing the needs of both visual and
auditory learners.
xlv
e. By bringing media into the classroom, teachers can expose their
students to multiple input sources.
f. Media helps students call up existing schemata and therefore
maximize their use of prior background knowledge in the language
learning process.
g. Media provides a means of presenting material in a time-efficient
and compact manner, and of stimulating students’ senses, thereby
helping them to process information more readily.
2. Videos as Teaching Media
a. The Definition of Video
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video, video is defined as the
technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing,
transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing
scenes in motion.
Furthermore, Cooper (1991:11) defines video as a supercharged
medium of communication and powerful vehicle of information that is
packed with messages, images, and ambiguity, and so represents a rich
terrain to be worked and reworked in the language learning classroom. In
other words, video is the combination of electronic pictures and audio.
Those electronic combinations cannot be seen as it is in a CD cassette, but
must be played with equipment called video cassette recorder or video
player. This video player is connected with TV monitor, so that the content
of CD can be heard and seen.
xlvi
In the case of video as a teaching media in language classroom, it
can be concluded that video is a medium of communication containing
messages, images, and sounds used in teaching learning process.
b. Characteristics of Video
The characteristics of video in language learning are as follow:
1) Video displays the pictures and sounds (verbal symbols)
2) The sequence of pictures is constant, cannot be changed.
3) The program of video shows the three dimensions color and
movement.
4) The advantages of video:
a.) Can be used immediately
b.) Can be used repeatedly
c.) Can display the materials which are impossible to be brought
physically in class.
d.) Can display danger object
e.) Can display detailed object
f.) Doesn’t need dark place
g.) The speed can be adjusted (fast or slow)
h.) Can be used in classical and individual
i.) Display the colored pictures and sound
j.) Can display the animation with sound which shows an event or
process.
5) The disadvantages of video:
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a.) Difficult to be revised
b.) Relatively expensive
c.) Need a specific skill
c. The Importance of Video in Language Learning
Video can be used at every level, both as supplementary materials
for language reinforcement and skill practice and as the main component
of an intensive course or course module provided that suitable material is
available (Stemplesky, 1990:4).
The use of video in teaching learning process has some advantages
as follow:
1) increasing the students’ motivation in learning
2) reviewing the past lesson
3) providing learning stimulus
4) activating students’ respond
5) giving feedback
6) accomplishing good practice
In addition, Stemplesky (1990:3-4) states about the importance of a
moving picture component as a language teaching aid. First of all, video
can increase motivation of the students. Children and adults feel their
interest quicken when language is experienced in a lively way through
television and video. Video can present language more comprehensively
than any other teaching medium. Second, video can be used as a mean of
communication. A video sequence used in class makes students more
xlviii
ready to communicate in the target language. Third, non-verbal aspect of
communication can be presented by video. Video allows the viewer to see
the non-verbal communication, such as gestures, expression, posture, etc.
Finally, by using video, cross-cultural comparison can be done in
language teaching. Video is a reach resource for communication in the
language classroom including the cultural behavior.
d. Categories of Video in Language Learning
Stemplesky (1990:7) suggests the categories of video which is
usually used in language learning classroom:
1) Drama: this broad category embraces most video, TV, and film
material with scripted dialogue and/or dramatic elements, such as
TV soap operas, drama series, plays, situation comedies, etc. it also
includes feature films as a subcategory.
2) Documentaries: any material which is non-fictional and/or
unscripted (e.g. a TV current affairs investigation of an issue as
opposed to a scripted drama about the same issue). Subcategories
include TV news programs, interviews and sport programs, and
also the kind of TV talk shows.
3) TV Commercials: all kinds of TV or cinema advertising material or
short promotional video.
4) Music Video: generally used to refer to pop music videos of all
kinds, but could include song and musical numbers from TV light
entertainment shows or cinema musicals.
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The category of video used in this research is drama. The researcher
uses cartoon film materials with scripted dialogue as the teaching aid. Cartoon
film is suitable for the young learners in junior high school. It contains simple
complication or problems which is easy to be followed by the students. The
visualization of this video is also interesting for the young learners so that they
are expected to have high motivation in taking part in teaching learning
process.
C. Teaching Writing by Using Videos
1. Techniques in Teaching Writing by Using Videos
Video has been used in two main ways in EFL: as an alternative to
written or audio text, and as a tool for analyzing learners’ error (Cooper,
1991:3). There are some techniques to be conducted in teaching writing with
videos.
a. Sound off/vision on (silent viewing): this techniques can be used either
to stimulate language activity about what is seen on the screen (rather
what is being said) or to focus on what is being said, by a variety of
guessing or prediction task.
b. Sound on/vision off: students guess the setting, actions, characters, etc.
this can be done by varieties of ways.
c. Pause/freeze-frame control: (to utilize with sound on/off and vision
on/off controls as above)
l
1.) With sound on, pausing at strategic points in the plot or action,
teacher asks students question about the situation (what was
happened/what is going to happen).
2.) Pause at suitable moments of characters’ facial expression for
students to suggest thoughts, feeling, etc.
d. Sound and vision on (viewing comprehension).
1.) Students are given a cloze passage of the dialogue or of a
description of the scene and have to complete gaps while/after
viewing.
2.) Students view and listen to the sequence then have to list the things
they expect to hear, see, etc.
e. Jumbling sequences: students view each section of a sequence,
presented to them out of sequence. The students have to determine
what has happened or what will happen in each case and then fit the
section into a correct or plausible sequence.
f. Split viewing: some students see a sequence but do not hear it; others
hear but do not see. A variety of activities can then follow based on
usual information-gap procedures.
The techniques will be used in this research are pause/freeze frame
control and viewing comprehension. The students are expected to get the main
idea and understand the whole story by active viewing and listening to the
video.
2. The Importance of Improving Writing Skill by Using Video
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In the writing activity, video can be used in building the creativity of
the students in composing or summarizing the sequence. It can be formed as
cartoon, short films, TV commercials, et cetera. Advantages of using video in
language learning are that they are relatively short to be understood easily by
the students, and most contain a wealth of cultural material which can be
exploited with little preparation. They also make the class livelier.
D. Rationale
Writing is one of the language skills which should be mastered by the
students. But in fact, writing competence is considered the last language skill
taught at school. In some cases, teaching learning process held in a classroom is
more concerned at acquiring the other skills. The teachers tend to give the
students tasks of making composition as homework to measure the students’
ability since writing is considered as a learning activity which spends much time
when it is conducted in a classroom. Teachers spent little or no time teaching the
students how to write. It means the students have a little practice in writing at
school. That is why the students at school have the difficulties in acquiring this
language skill. They have some problems when they are asked to write a
composition. The problems which the researcher found in her research were the
students have difficulties in generating ideas and organizing it into paragraphs.
The students spend too long time in writing a story because they still confused
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how they should start their writing. Sometimes the students stuck in a point and
couldn’t continue their writing. They also seemed to be bored in writing lesson.
To solve the problem teachers can use some media in teaching English
writing to help them in delivering the materials more easily. One of the media that
can be used in teaching English writing is video. The teachers can find a valuable
resource in video. Video has some advantages to be used in language learning in
classroom. In writing class, video can give a stimulus for the students about
something, so that they have a matter to say in their writing. Video provides a
shared experience for students in the class, a common base that leads to a variety
of language activities. The use of video can create the amusing, fun, and relaxing
atmosphere in the classroom. Students are more motivated in learning because the
learners, especially young learners, are usually interested more in watching
animation or moving pictures than reading the text. Therefore, when they enter the
class they will not feel any pressure and will enjoy in writing learning process.
So, it is assumed that using videos as teaching aids on students’ writing is
effective for developing and promoting students' English writing skill. By
watching the videos, the learners are guided in selecting the topic, so the learners
get the ideas about what they are going to write. The main achievement is that the
learners are expected to be able to generate ideas into a composition.
E. Hypothesis
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Based on theories previously discussed in the rationale, the hypothesis is:
the use of videos in language teaching can improve writing skill of the eighth
grade students of SMP N 2 Temanggung in the academic year of 2009/2010.
CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
A. The Method of the Research
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The method used in this study is classroom action research. There are
some definitions of action research proposed by experts. Carr and Kemmis (1982)
in Burns (1999:30) states that action research is simply a form of self-reflective
enquiry undertaken by participants in social situation in order to improve the
rationality and justice of their own practices, their understanding of this practices
and the situations in which the practices are carried out.
While Mills (2000:6) defines action research as:
Any systematic inquiry conducted by teachers, researchers, principals, school counselors, or other stakeholders in teaching or learning environment, to gather information about the ways that their particular schools operate, how they teach, and how well their students learn. This information is gathered with the goals of gaining insight, developing reflective practice, effecting positive changes in the school environment (and on educational practices in general), and improving students outcomes and the lives of those involved.
Zuber-Skerritt (1996:14) says that action research is ways of investigating
professional experience which link practice and the analysis of practice into a
single productive and continuously developing sequence, and which link
researchers and research participants into a single community of interested
colleagues. Furthermore, Wallace (1999:4) states action research is basically a
way of reflecting on a teacher’s teaching (or teacher-training, or management of
an English department, or whatever it is the teacher does in ELT). It is done
systematically by collecting data on teacher’s everyday practice and analyzing it
in order to come to some decisions about what the teacher’s future practice should
be.
lv
In addition, Hopkins (1983:1) says that classroom research is an act
undertaken by teachers either to improve their own or a colleague’s teaching or to
test the assumptions of educational theory in practice.
Anne Burns (1999:30) suggests the characteristics of action research:
1. Action research is contextual, small scale and localized. It identifies and
investigates problems within a specific situation.
2. It is evaluative and reflective as it aims to bring about change and
improvement in practice.
3. It is participatory as it provides for collaborative investigation by teams of
colleagues, practitioners and researcher.
4. Changes in practice are based on the collection of information or data
which provides the impetus for changes.
While Kemmis and McTaggart (1988) in Nunan (1992:17) argue that the
three defining characteristics of action research are that it is carried out by
practitioners (for our purposes, classroom teachers) rather than outside
researchers; secondly, that it is collaborative; and thirdly, that it is aimed at
changing things.
From the above definitions, it can be summarized that action research is a
systematic research done by teachers, researchers, principals, school counselors,
administrator or other educational professionals to solve problems in order to get
better improvement.
In this research, the researcher aims to overcome the students’ problem in
improving their writing skill. The researcher collaborates with the teacher in
lvi
implementing the action research. The researcher teaches writing in the
implementation of the action research. She discusses with the teacher about the
topic, the homework, exercises and the test items. The teacher watches and
observes the teaching learning process. The practical action the researcher used is
the technique using video.
B. Setting of the Study
This classroom action research is carried out in SMP Negeri 2
Temanggung which is located at Jl. Jend. Sudirman 21 Temanggung. SMP Negeri
2 Temanggung is one of the favorite schools and one of the International Standard
Schools in Temanggung. This school is located in the main street of Temanggung.
The strategic location of SMP Negeri 2 Temanggung makes it easy to reach. It is
also near some public areas, such as bank, police station, and any other offices.
This school consists of three grades in which each grade consists of six
classes. There are 18 classrooms, teacher office, headmaster office, administration
room, multimedia room, library, laboratories, mosque, canteens, basketball yard,
and also parking area. Each classroom is completed with some facilities which are
set to support teaching learning process, such as whiteboard, blackboard, tables
and chairs which are fit with the number of the students, a teacher’s desk and
chair, a clock, LCD and screen, sound system, and good air circulation and
lighting.
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There are so many two-storey buildings which are built to overcome the
needs of classrooms and any other rooms to remember that the width of school
area is narrow.
The research is conducted through teaching learning process in the
classroom at the eighth grade students in the academic year of 2009/2010. This
research is held by implementing the use of videos to improve students’ writing
skill in generating and organizing ideas. Therefore, this research is based on
KTSP of SMP which is aimed to help the students able to communicate in written
a text correctly. The study is started from the beginning of February 2010.
C. The Subject of the Study
The subjects of this study are the eighth grade students of SMP Negeri 2
Temanggung in the academic year of 2009/2010. The classroom of VIII F is
located in the back yard of SMP Negeri 2 Temanggung, precisely in the north side
of yard. There are 34 students consisting 14 boys and 20 girls in class of 8-F.
This classroom is wide enough for 34 students.
The situation of VIII F is comfortable enough to study. It has good
lighting and complete facilities. In this classroom there are LCD and sound
system which is set permanently. There is also LCD screen to present the picture
from the LCD. The facilities are set as well as possible so it can be used easily.
Besides that, there are white board and blackboard in front of the class.
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But, because this classroom looks out upon the yard, sometimes the
situation in classroom during teaching learning process is disturbed by the noise
of the students who do the sport out of classroom.
D. Models of the Research
The model of action research used in this research is the model developed
by Kemmis and Mc Taggart in Burns (1999:32). According to them, classroom
action research is composed of cycles consisting of four steps namely: planning,
action, observation and reflections.
Visually, the steps in action research by Kemmis and Mc Taggart
(Hopkins, 1993:48) can be illustrated as follows:
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Figure 3.1. Steps in Action Research
E. Procedures of the Research
In this classroom action research, each procedure takes some steps that
form one cycle. The procedures of action research in this research are as follows:
1. Identifying the problem
The problems are identified first before planning the action. In this
step, the researcher identifies the problems occurring in the class. The
problems refer to the factors causing the students difficult to improve their
writing skill. To identify the problem, the researcher observes the teaching
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learning process, interviews, gives the pre-test and open-ended
questionnaires to the students.
2. Implementing the action research
This research is conducted in two cycles. Each cycle uses video as
teaching media in writing activity.
According to Kemmis and Mc Taggart, action research occurs
through a dynamic and complementary process, which consists of four
essentials ‘moments’: planning, action, observation and reflection (Burns,
1999:32). These moments are the fundamental steps in a spiraling process
through which participants in an action research group undertake to:
a. Planning
It includes the following activities:
1) Preparing material, making lesson plan, and designing the steps in
doing the action.
2) Preparing list of students’ name and scoring.
3) Preparing teaching aids (video).
4) Preparing sheets of classroom observation (to know the situation of
teaching-learning process when the method or technique or mode is
applied).
5) Preparing a test.
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b. Action
The included activities were:
1) Giving pretest
2) Teaching in the classroom
3) Giving occasion to the students to ask any difficulties or problems
4) Asking the students some questions
5) Guiding students to do the task
6) Giving post test
c. Observation
Observation is one of the instruments used in collecting data.
The researcher observes the students’ activities while teaching-learning
process occurs. The results of the observation are recorded on
observation sheets as useful data. The researcher is helped by the
teacher to observe students’ activities and give inputs and suggestions.
d. Reflection
The results of the observation are analyzed to remember what
have happened and have been recorded. Meanwhile, the researcher
evaluates the teaching learning process during the implementation
phase. From this, self reflection can be done. And from the tests, the
students’ improvement can be known.
3. Doing Evaluation
The researcher makes an evaluation on the observation result to
find out the positive result and weaknesses during the action. To ensure
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whether or not there is an improvement of the students’ writing skill, the
researcher gives the students pre-test and post-test. Pre-test is held at the
beginning of the first cycle to measure students’ writing skills before
implementing the action and post-test is held at the end of every cycle to
measure the improvement of students’ writing skills after the action. After
giving the test, the researcher analyzes the result of the test by scoring it.
In scoring the data of writing skill, the researcher uses rubric evaluation of
writing. The researcher also needs help from one who is regarded to have
enough capability in scoring writing. The researcher asks the English
teacher in SMP N 2 Temanggung to be the second corrector. It is done to
minimize subjectivity of scoring.
F. Technique of Collecting Data
In this study, the researcher uses observational and non-observational
techniques for collecting action research data (Burns, 1999:79). Observational
techniques is used to find out the situation of the teaching learning process when
the techniques is applied and the students’ responses and feeling toward learning
using the technique. Observational techniques used in this research are research
diaries or journals, notes or field notes and photographs. While non-observational
techniques used in this research are in the form of writing tests, interviews, and
open-ended questionnaires. Non-observational tools result in data that are
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essentially introspective, that is, they invite personal and individual accounts of
events, attitudes, and beliefs.
Burns adds there are two roles of observation, namely non-participant and
participant observation. Non-participant observation means watching and
recording without personal involvement in the research context. On the other
hand, participant observation involves entering the research context and observing
oneself as well as others in that context. The researcher became a member of the
context and participates in its culture and activities. In this research, the researcher
uses participant observation to get the data. The researcher enters the class as
teacher.
G. Instruments
There are five instruments used in this research to collect the data: notes
or field notes, researcher’s diaries or journals, open-ended questionnaires,
photographs and writing tests.
1. Notes or field notes
Notes or field notes are descriptions and accounts of events in the
research context which are written in a relatively factual and objective
style. They generally include reports of non verbal information, physical
setting, group structures and records of conversations and interactions
between participants. In this research, notes or field notes are used to
observe students’ writing skill improvement from their behavior side.
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Collaborative observer’s notes or field notes are used to take notes on
important activities related with students’ writing skill.
2. Researcher’s diaries or journals
Diaries or journals are an alternative to field notes, or a
supplement, if time permits. They provide continuing accounts of
perceptions and thought processes, as well as critical events or issues
which have surfaced in the classroom. Diaries and journals contain more
subjective and personal reflections and interpretations than the relatively
formulized recordings of notes. In this research, diaries or journals are
written by the researcher as the teacher to record her analysis,
interpretation, and reflection. They are used to observe the students’
behavior and development, materials, lesson plans, and everything related
with teaching activities.
3. Open-ended questionnaires
Open-ended questionnaires are several questions expected to be
answered by the participants in order to collect the data. The participants
are quite free to answer the question. In this research, they are used to
know the students’ felling, perception and opinions to the English teaching
activities happen in the class.
4. Photographs
Photographs are way of greatly enhancing classroom analysis and
providing visual stimuli which can be integrated into reporting and
presenting the research to others. The use of photographs is also a
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language classroom task and activities where visual aids are an invaluable
support in learning. In this research, photographs are used to record
activities happen in the class as it can give real description about the
teaching learning process.
5. Writing tests
Test is a set of questions or exercises or other instruments to
measure knowledge, intelligence, ability or aptitude of groups or
individuals. The researcher conducts tests consisting of post test 1 and post
test 2. Post test 1 is done after the first cycle ends and the post test 2 is
held in the end of the second cycle. The tests are used to measure students’
writing skill from the achievement side.
H. Technique of Analyzing Data
After collecting the data, the next step of the study is analyzing the data.
The data are analyzed by qualitative and quantitative data analysis.
1. Qualitative
The data of pre-research observation report, research diaries, field
notes, and the photographs of teaching learning process are analyzed by
constant comparative method. There are four stages of analyzing
classroom research data according to Becker in Hopkins (1985:107), those
are:
a. selection and definition of concepts;
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b. frequency and distribution of concept;
c. incorporation of findings into models;
d. presentation of evidence and proof.
2. Quantitative
In analyzing the test score of the written test, a statistical technique
is used to find the students’ mean score. The data from the test are
analyzed in order to prove whether or not teaching writing using video can
improve students’ writing skill.
In this research, the students’ mean score of the post test 1 is
compared to the students’ mean score of the post test 2 to know whether
there is an improvement of the students’ writing skill.
The formulas used to compute the mean scores are:
N
yy
N
xx
å
å
=
=
In which:
X = mean of post test 1 scores
Y = mean of post test 2 scores
N = the number of sample
The hypothesis of this research is tested using non-independent t-test.
The t-value can be calculated with the formula as follows:
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t : the t-value for non-independent (correlated) means
D : the differences between the paired scores
D : the mean of the differences
2DS : the sum of the squared differences scores
n : the number of pairs
(Furchan, 2007: 226)
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CHAPTER IV
RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
A. Introduction
The research was conducted with the collaboration of the English teacher
of SMP Negeri 2 Temanggung. In this research, the researcher became a
practitioner who implemented the action in teaching learning process in the
classroom and the English teacher was the observer and facilitator who observed
the teaching learning process from the beginning until the end of the research. The
schedule of the research can be seen in the table 2.
Table 2. The Schedule of the Research
Activities Date Purpose
Interview January, 8th 2010 Identifying teacher’s problems in
teaching writing.
Observation January, 8th 2010 Identifying the problems during
teaching learning process
Giving the first
Questionnaire
January, 9th 2010 Identifying students’ problems in
writing.
Pre-test February, 11th 2010 Identifying students’ writing skill.
Cycle 1:
1st meeting
2nd meeting
3rd meeting
4th meeting
post-test 1
February, 17th 2010
February, 18th 2010
February, 19th 2010
February, 24th 2010
February, 25th 2010
Implementing the action plan
Implementing the action plan
Implementing the action plan
Implementing the action plan
Measuring the students’ writing skill
after the action.
Cycle 2:
1st meeting
March, 12th 2010
Implementing the action plan
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2nd meeting
3rd meeting
post-test 1
March,17th 2010
March, 18th 2010
March, 19th 2010
Implementing the action plan
Implementing the action plan
Measuring the students’ writing skill
after the action
Giving the last
Questionnaires
April, 14th 2010 Knowing the students’ opinion about
the action.
Interview after
the action
April, 14th 2010 Knowing the students’ opinion about
the action.
B. Research Findings
1. Identifying the Problem
To know the condition of English teaching learning, the researcher
conducted pre-observation in class VIII F of SMP Negeri 2 Temanggung
before the action was done. In this pre-observation she found some problems
of writing skill. The students had the problems in writing a text because they
learnt writing without using a good approach and treatment. They were just
asked to write a composition based on the topic that had been prepared in the
text book. Sometimes, the students didn’t understand about a certain
instruction of a text for example the generic structure of the text, purposes and
the language features of the text.
The researcher also gave the open-ended questionnaires to the students
about English writing in their class. Based on the questionnaires which had
been filled in by the eighth grade students of SMP Negeri 2 Temanggung, the
researcher found out some problems dealing with writing skill:
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4. There were 23.5% students who disliked English writing class, 3%
students much disliked English writing, 64% said neutral, and only 8.8%
students liked English writing.
5. There were 55.6% students who still found it difficult to generate ideas
into composition. Only 8.8% students agreed that generating ideas was
easy. The rest students said neutral.
6. There was no student who agreed that writing a composition needs a short
time. 76.47% students still needed very long time in composing
paragraphs. The rest students said neutral.
After finding the problems faced by the students in English class, the
researcher conducted a pre-test. The pre-test was done before doing the
teaching learning process. The test was done in order to know the writing skill
of the students. The mean of the students’ scores in the pre-test was 68.22.
Based on the pre-observation and pre-test conducted by the researcher,
it can be identified that the writing skill of the eighth grade students in SMP
Negeri 2 Temanggung was still low. It should be improved by implementing a
teaching technique which can overcome the problems. In implementing the
teaching learning process, the researcher used videos to improve students’
writing skill. The target of this research was the improvement of students’
writing skill which concerns more on the generating ideas and organization of
text.
lxxi
2. Implementing the Action Research
a. Cycle 1
1.) Planning
After finding the problems by the pre-observation, pre-test, and
using questionnaires, the researcher made a plan to teach writing class in
cycle 1. She prepared materials from internet and relevant books. She
planned four meetings in cycle 1. She prepared a lesson plan for four
meetings at once. The researcher chose materials which are suitable for the
students. She chose a video cartoon which can be easily understood by the
students. The title of the video used in the cycle 1 was “The Postman Pat
and Surprise Present”. The duration of this video was about 12 minutes.
2.) Action
In this cycle the researcher implemented the teaching technique
using videos. There were four meetings in this cycle. She prepared a
lesson plan for four meetings at once.
a.) The First Meeting
The researcher conducted the first meeting on Wednesday,
February 17th 2010. She entered the class of VIII F. As soon as the
researcher entered the class, she greeted the students and checked the
students’ attendance list. She didn’t introduce herself because she had
done it in the pre-test. She started the teaching with some pre-
activities. She gave some guided questions about some famous
narrative stories, such as Malin Kundang, Kancil Nyolong Timun,
lxxii
Cinderella, etc. She asked orally to the students about the characters,
setting, and what happened in that stories. Some students participated
actively in this brainstorming section. Then she asked about cartoon
films. She introduced the cartoon film which would be played in the
next activities. Most of them didn’t know yet about the film. Not so
long, she prepared everything to play the video using laptop connected
with LCD and sound system. All of the students paid attention to the
video when it was being played. After that, the researcher asked to the
students about the video. Some students didn’t comprehend the whole
part of the story. It was caused by the noise out of the class so they
couldn’t listen clearly. So, the researcher played it once again by the
play-pause technique. The students still paid attention to the video.
From the second playing, the students could get the message of the
video. Next, the researcher guided the students about the generic
structure of the story in the video (orientation, complication, and
resolution) by giving some guiding questions. Some students actively
answered the researcher’s questions. After that, the researcher asked
them to make a group of 4 and write some declarative sentences using
past tense related to the story in the video as much as possible. The
researcher taught about past tense then asked the students to start their
task with their own group. The researcher went around the class to
guide the students and help them solve the difficulties they faced. In
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the end of the class, the researcher asked the students to submit their
work and closed the meeting.
b.) The Second Meeting
On Thursday, February 18th 2010, the researcher came for the
second meeting. In this meeting, the lesson begins with reviewing the
last meeting. The researcher also explained about past tense because in
the last lesson most of the students still made some mistakes in writing
sentences with past tense. She pointed some students to make
examples of past tense sentences. There were some students who made
wrong sentences. The researcher gave some examples of past tense in
white board. She also explained about passive voice in brief. The
students paid attention to the researcher when she was explaining the
grammar. Then, she told the students about the same video. She played
that video from the beginning until the end. The students were still
interested in the same materials. After watching the video, the
researcher repeated the last lesson about the characters of the story and
the generic structure of the story. Then, she explained about the time
conjunctions which are usually used in narrative text. Some students
seemed that they had already understood about examples of time
conjunctions. Next, the researcher asked the students to sit with their
own groups. In this meeting, she asked the students to make a short
paragraph based on the video using temporal or time conjunctions. As
usual, she went around the class to guide the students in making their
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task. Most of the students asked her about the vocabularies and
sometimes about the way of the story. Since the time was up, the
researcher asked the students to submit their work and said goodbye.
c.) The Third Meeting
The third meeting was conducted on Friday, February 19th
2010. The researcher entered to the class and opened her teaching by
greeting the students. The researcher played the same video to the
students. Then, the researcher reviewed about the generic structure of
story in the video. The researcher concerned more on the parts of
narrative text. Some students followed actively but the others were
passive. Next, the researcher asked the students to work in their own
group as what they had done in last meeting. At this time, the
researcher asked them to do exercise in making paragraph based on
generic structure of narrative text. Each group made one of generic
structure. 1st group wrote the orientation, 2nd group wrote the
complication, 3rd group wrote the resolution, et cetera. After the bell
rang, the researcher asked them to submit their work and ended the
teaching learning.
d.) The Fourth Meeting
The researcher came to the class on Wednesday, February 24th
2010 for the fourth meeting. The researcher told that at this time they
would use the same video. They wanted to watch the other video. But
the researcher ensured them to watch the same video for having the
lxxv
different exercise from the last meeting. Then, she played the video for
the students and asked them to pay attention to it. They still paid
attention to the video from the beginning until the end. After they
watched the video, the researcher asked them to make a full narrative
text from orientation until resolution. They did their own work in their
own paper. Some students still asked about vocabulary to the
researcher. As usual, the researcher went around the class and helped
the students who faced the difficulties in making their story. When the
bell rang, the researcher asked the students to submit their work.
Finally, she closed her teaching and announced that next week there
would be a post-test.
3.) Observation
a.) The First Meeting
In the first meeting, there were two students who didn’t attend
the class because they had to practice scout for a competition. The
students of VIII F participated actively in the researcher’s class. When
the video was played, all of them paid close attention to the video. It
showed that the students had an interest to the video. But, when the
researcher divided them into groups, the students were very noisy. It
took much time to get them in groups.
They still had difficulties in constructing sentences in past
form. It was proved by their assignments which had several errors of
past form. They also still lack of vocabularies. It was indicated by their
lxxvi
questions to the researcher. Almost all of them were about
vocabularies.
b.) The Second Meeting
The students were actively involved in teaching learning. Their
responses were good. In this meeting, the students were more active.
They still paid attention to the video though it was already played in
the previous meeting. All of them seriously watched the video. When
the researcher guided the students about time conjunction, the
condition was noisy. It seemed that they had already understood about
that term. Some of them mention the examples of time conjunction
correctly. After the researcher divided them into groups, the class was
so noisy. Some of the students went here and there to find dictionary
and everything they needed. There were still some students who asked
about vocabularies and phrases.
c.) The Third Meeting
In the third meeting the researcher still played the same video
for the students. Some of the students watched it lazily especially the
students who sat at the back. But no one made a noise in class.
When the researcher divided them into groups as usual, there
were still noisy. Most of them worked in groups well. They discussed
seriously to make a paragraph of a narrative although they still had
difficulties in vocabulary. But there were still some students who
didn’t take part actively and talked something else with the other
lxxvii
friends. Because of the limited time, most of groups could not finish
their work, so the researcher asked them to submit after the break time
in teacher office.
d.) The Fourth Meeting
In this meeting, the students seemed to be lazy when they
watch the video. When the researcher asked them to make a full
narrative story based on the video individually, almost all of them
complained about that. They seemed to be unconfident when they were
asked to write not in their group anymore. But then they did their
exercise after the researcher asked them repeatedly. The students were
very noisy. They asked each other about their writing. Some students
still asked about the vocabulary to the researcher. When the bell rang,
most of the students hadn’t finished their story.
4.) Reflection
After analyzing the observation result in the cycle one, the
researcher did reflection in order to evaluate the teaching and learning
process she did so far. She found the students’ progress in writing ability.
Observation result showed that there were some improvements achieved
by the students after doing the action.
In cycle one, the mean score of the students was increasing. It
could be seen by comparing the result of the pre-test and post-test during
the implementation of the action. The mean score of the post-test result
lxxviii
done at the end of the cycle one was 75.58. It was better than the mean
score of the pre-test which was done before the action, 68.22.
Besides the improvement in their products of writing, there were
also some improvements in the students’ attitude toward writing. In
teaching learning process conducted in cycle 1, the students were more
motivated in writing. They were motivated because in every beginning of
the class, they watched the video which can give them stimulus which
makes them relax and gives them topics to be discussed. By the teaching
learning process, there is also improvement of students’ writing skill in
generating the ideas. The students could write the longer story than before
in a more organized text.
But, in this cycle, the researcher still found some weaknesses of the
students in writing a story. They had difficulties in vocabulary mastery. It
was indicated by the fact that almost all of their questions were about
vocabulary. They sometimes used inappropriate words in their writing.
They also still found it difficult to change the past forms of certain verbs,
especially the irregular verbs. Besides, some of them still got difficulties in
using the correct past form when they wrote sentences. The improvements
of the students’ achievements and learning process at the end of cycle 1
can be seen in table 3.
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Table 3. The Improvement of Students’ Achievement and Learning Process at the End of Cycle 1
Data sources Before the action After the action of cycle 1
Observations
Interviews
Questionnaires
1. Teaching Learning Process
· The students seemed uninterested when they were asked to write.
· Some students paid less attention to the teacher’s explanation.
· They spent so much time in starting their task when they were asked to write.
· Some students made noise in teaching learning process.
2. Writing Skill
· The students got difficulties in generating ideas into the words.
· The students only made few supporting details when they made paragraphs.
· The students got difficulties in organizing the story.
· The students got stuck in a point when writing.
· The students were
1. Teaching Learning Process
· The students were more enthusiastic in joining writing class but still afraid when they were asked to write individually.
· When the videos were played, the students paid attention to them.
· Most students could start their task better and involved in their group actively.
· Some students still talked each other and made noise when they were asked to work in group and moved here and there in the session of joint construction.
2. Writing Skill
· The students could write a story in more generated ideas.
· The students could make longer paragraph with sufficient supporting details.
· The students could organize their story better.
· The students could finish their story until the end.
· The students could start their writing with some opening sentences.
· The students were still careless about grammar.
lxxx
confused in starting their writing.
· The students got difficulties in constructing the past sentences.
· The students were lack of vocabulary, especially the past terms of irregular verbs.
· The students were still lack of vocabulary, also in the past terms of irregular verbs.
Test The mean score of the pre-test:
68.22
The mean score of the post-
test1: 75.58
The problems would be solved:
· The students’ difficulties in generating ideas. · The students’ difficulties in organizing texts. · The student’s difficulties in constructing past sentences. · The low vocabulary mastery
The weaknesses which still happened:
· The students’ difficulties in constructing past sentences. · The difficulties in using appropriate words (the low vocabulary mastery).
b. Cycle 2
1.) Revised Plan
To solve the weaknesses emerged in cycle 1, the researcher made a
revised plan to teach writing in cycle 2 based on the observation and
reflection from teaching learning process in cycle 1. The researcher gave
some materials of vocabulary in this cycle because in the previous cycle
the students were still lack of vocabulary. The researcher also gave more
exercises about writing sentences with the correct grammar. In this cycle,
the researcher planned to conduct three meetings which still focused on
writing by using video. The narrative video chosen in this cycle was fable.
The title of the video was ‘Ant and the Dove’ with the duration was about
lxxxi
4 minutes. She also prepared students’ worksheet. The materials used in
this cycle were almost the same with the previous cycle. The difference of
both was only in vocabulary. In the materials of cycle 2, the researcher
added some vocabulary exercises because in the result of cycle 1 the
students were still lack of vocabularies. A lesson plan was made by the
researcher for three meetings at once.
2.) Action
In the second cycle, the researcher used the same technique in
teaching writing using video, but with different theme. This cycle was
conducted in three meetings.
a.) The Fifth Meeting
The fifth meeting was done on Friday, March 12th 2010. The
researcher came to class 8 F with the English teacher. As usual, the
researcher opened her teaching learning process by greeting the
students and checking students’ attendance list. At the first time, the
researcher did some flashback about the narrative materials which have
been discussed in the previous meeting. The researcher made a review
about narrative text by guiding the students to answer her questions.
After that, the researcher focused on one of narrative types, which is
fable. The students were guided to mention some examples of fable.
Then, the researcher introduced a video cartoon fable to the students.
The title of the video was “Ant and the Dove”. Its duration was about
4 minutes. The researcher played that video with her laptop. The
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students paid attention to the film when the video was played. The
researcher played the video twice. After the video ended, the students
made some noise and discussed about the video each other. Then the
researcher guided the students to mention the characters of the story,
and some vocabularies related with the video. After that, the researcher
asked them to make a group of 4 or 5 as usual and gave each group
pieces of students’ worksheet. The students were asked to do the
exercises within their group. The exercises in this meeting were about
the vocabulary. They were asked to find out the meaning of certain
vocabulary and also the past form of that vocabulary. After that, each
group should makes some sentences use the vocabulary mentioned
before. When the bell was ringing, the researcher asked them to submit
their worksheet.
b.) The Sixth Meeting
On Wednesday March 17th 2010, the researcher conducted the
sixth meeting. First of all, the researcher greeted the students and
checked the students’ attendance list as the opening activities. As soon
as possible she reviewed the last meeting about the story in the video.
The researcher invited the students to watch the video again. The video
was still the same with the video played in the fifth meetings. The
researcher prepared everything to play that video by being helped by
some students. The students were interested in that video and paid
attention to it. Having finished, the researcher reviewed the generic
lxxxiii
structure of the story and some of students participated actively. Then,
the researcher asked the students to be in their own group and gave
them their worksheet. In this meeting, each group were asked to make
a story of fable based on the video they watched. The researcher asked
the students to submit worksheet when the time was over.
c.) The Seventh Meeting
The researcher conducted the seventh meeting on Thursday,
March 18th 2010. As soon as she entered the class, the researcher
opened the class and reviewed the previous lesson. In this meeting, the
researcher still played the same video. The students still paid attention
to the video which was played. In this last meeting, the researcher
asked the students to write a story of fable based on the video they just
have watched individually, not in group anymore. The students seemed
confident when they were asked to write individually. They did the
exercise without being asked by the researcher many times. They
asked each other, open the Alfa link, and even asked to the researcher
and their English teacher. The researcher guided them in constructing a
story. After the time was over, the students submit their work and the
researcher and announced that in the next meeting there would be post
test. Finally, she said good bye to them.
3.) Observation
a.) The Fifth Meeting
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The students seemed that they were more interested in the
video of fable. They paid close attention to the video and sometimes
discussed with their friends beside them. The situation was conducive
because there was no noisy outside the class so that the students could
hear clearly. To solve the weaknesses of cycle 1, the researcher gave
some guidance about vocabulary mastery. She gave some vocabulary
to the students related to the story. In fact, the students were
enthusiastic in joining and responding the lesson during teaching
learning process. They were also enthusiastic to do the exercises in
group because in this meeting the researcher gave more variation in
their exercises, not merely in writing a story but also the vocabulary.
b.) The Sixth Meeting
In the sixth meeting, the students still paid attention to the
video. They were asked to do exercise in making a fable based on the
video they watch. They looked enthusiastic when discussing with their
friends within their group. But, sometimes they told each other about
something else. So, the researcher went around the class to guide and
monitor them whether they were active in their own group or not. Most
of them were active when they were asked to do the exercises. But
some students looked lazy and passive working in group.
c.) The Seventh Meeting
When the researcher asked them some questions about the
story, most of them answered that they had understood the content of
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the video. In this last meeting, the students seemed confident when the
researcher asked them to write individually. After the researcher
played the video in the beginning of the class, they did write a fable
about “Ant and the Dove” based on the video they watch. The
condition in the class was very noisy by the voice of students’
discussion. In this meeting many students asked questions.
4.) Reflection and Evaluation
In the cycle 2, the researcher found some improvements. The
students were motivated and interested in teaching learning process. The
students were more enthusiastic in joining the class with the videos of
fables. The videos stimulated the students to make narrative easier because
they can imagine about the way of the story in video, then write it down in
a paper. They also had more confidence in writing individually after they
watched the videos. Without being asked many times by the researcher,
they did their task.
There were also some improvements in students’ ability of writing.
The students were more able to use past sentences correctly. It was shown
by the students’ exercises in their worksheet which had only fewer
mistakes.
Moreover, the test scores in cycle 2 showed the improvement
result. The mean score of the pre-test was 68.22, while the mean score of
the post-test in cycle 1 was 75.58 and the mean score of the post-test in
lxxxvi
cycle 2 was 78.31. The improvements of the students’ achievements and
learning process at the end of cycle 2 can be seen in table 4.
Table 4. The Improvement of the Students’ Achievement and Learning Process at the End of Cycle 2
Data sources After the action of cycle 1 After the action of cycle 2
Observations
Interviews
Questionnaires
Teaching Learning Process
· The students were more enthusiastic in joining writing class but still afraid when they were asked to write individually.
· When the videos were played, the students paid attention to them.
· Most students could start their task better and involved in their group actively.
· Some students still talked each other and made noise when they were asked to work in group and moved here and there in the session of joint construction.
2. Writing Skill
· The students could write a story in more generated ideas.
· The students could make longer paragraph with sufficient supporting details.
· The students could organize their story better.
1. Teaching Learning Process
· The students were more motivated and confident to write individually after watching the videos.
· Some students discussed actively about the video in their own group.
· Most students could start their task better without wasting the time and involved in their group actively.
· Some students focused on their task and sometimes asked questions to the researcher and their teacher in joint construction session.
2. Writing Skill
· The students could write a story with more detailed information.
· The students could make longer paragraph with sufficient supporting details.
· The students could organize their story better from the beginning,
lxxxvii
· The students could finish their story until the end.
· The students could start their writing with some opening sentences.
· The students were still careless about grammar.
· The students were still lack of vocabulary, also in the past terms of irregular verbs.
middle, and ending. · The students could finish
their story until the end on time.
· The students could make some opening sentences in various ways better
· . The students could make past sentences better and were more careful in constructing past sentences.
· The students could change the verb1 into verb2 in correct forms and were able to use appropriate vocabulary better.
Test The mean score of the post-
test1: 75.58
The mean score of the post-
test2: 78.31
The problems would be solved:
· The students’ difficulties in constructing past sentences. · The difficulties in using appropriate words (the low vocabulary mastery).
The weakness which still happened:
· There were still few students who made some errors in using appropriate words.
From the observation done in this action, the findings can be concluded as
follows:
1. The positive improvement of students’ attitude towards writing during the
teaching learning process, indicated by the students were more motivated
and confident to write individually after watching the videos; some students
discussed actively about the video in their own group; most students could
start their task better without wasting the time and involved in their group
actively; some students focused on their task and sometimes asked questions
lxxxviii
to the researcher and their teacher in joint construction session. Meanwhile,
few students still made errors in using appropriate words.
2. The improvement in students’ writing skill, such as; the students could write
a story with more detailed information; the students could make longer
paragraph with sufficient supporting details; the students could organize
their story better from the beginning, middle, and ending; the students could
finish their story until the end on time; the students could make some
opening sentences in various ways better; the students could make past
sentences better and were more careful in constructing past sentences; the
students could change the verb1 into verb2 in correct forms and were able to
use appropriate vocabulary better. In short, the students could write a
narrative text well. Then, the computation of the level of significance of the
score (t-test) also showed that there was a significant improvement in
students’ writing skill. It was proved by the result of the t-test computation
which was higher than the t-table
C. Discussion
Overall, the result of the research showed that there were some
improvements. The findings of the results show the positive improvements in
students’ writing skill and students’ attitude towards writing in class.
By doing more practices in writing using videos, the students’ writing skill
has improved. They could write a story with more detailed information based on
lxxxix
the video; they produced longer paragraph with sufficient supporting details. The
students could get the ideas and inspirations to write a narrative text after they had
watched a video. The videos give them a stimulus so that they could have
something to write in their paper.
They could also make a story in a good organization and paragraphing
according to the generic structure of a narrative text. The students could produce
writing in well-organized texts consist of orientation, complication, and
resolution. They start their writing with opening sentences in various ways in the
beginning of the story, such as; “One day in the morning, Pat went to the post
office.”; “A long time ago in the jungle, lived a monkey and crocodile.”, etc.
They could use the word transition (time conjunction) to make their writing
systematic from beginning until the end of the story. The short videos could guide
the students to write the story in good order because they present the
systematically story line from the beginning, middle, and ending. The short videos
contain simple story so that they can be easily understood by the junior high
school students. By watching the short videos which contain simple stories, the
students can easily write a story until the end.
Besides, the students could apply the appropriate tense in their writing. In
this action researcher gave enough opportunity to write, the teaching learning
focused more on writing skill. Through this action, the students could have more
practices in writing narrative texts using videos. They could create a better writing
than before including in constructing the past sentences by using simple past
tense. Some videos present the narrator in past tense, so that it can help the
xc
students to use the appropriate tenses in their writing by actively viewing and
listening to the videos. By the action, the students could also be able to use
appropriate vocabulary. The students wrote correct spelling of the meant word in
their writing. The students could also change the verb1 into verb2 in correct
forms. It could be seen in the students’ worksheets in which the mistakes were
fewer than before.
The class situation in learning activities before the action research was
described as some students were busy with themselves, especially the students at
the back. They did some other activities when starting their writing such as talking
with other students, day dreaming, and drawing.
The improvement of the class situation was the students were more
motivated and confident when they were asked to write individually by watching
the videos first. They did their writing without being asked many times and did
not complain anymore. By watching the videos, the students could spend shorter
time when they were asked to write and most of the students could finish their
writing on time. It is because the videos could help them by presenting certain
topic which can be written down. Besides, the positive improvement can be seen
in the activeness of the students during the teaching learning process. Some
students discussed actively about the video in their own group after they watched
the video. The students also asked questions to the researcher and their teacher in
joint construction session. In other words, the students’ attitude towards writing
during teaching learning in the class was improved.
xci
The results of the test also support the positive improvements; the mean
score of the post-test done in the end of cycle 1 was 75.58. It increased 7.36 points
from the mean score of pre-test which was conducted before the action. It could
be said that there was an improvement in students’ writing skill. The researcher
also conducted the post-test 2 at the end of the cycle 2. The result of the post-test
2 showed the improvement in students’ writing skill. The mean score of the post-
test 2 was 78.31. It was better than the result of the post-test 1, 75.58.
Practically, the use of short videos is an appropriate teaching technique
which can be implemented in classroom. It is also implied that during the
implementation of using short videos in the teaching learning process, there are
some benefits for the students, which are:
1. Short videos can improve students’ writing skill. Students learn about
narrative text easily and enjoyably. By using the narrative short videos, they
can easily know about social function and generic structure of narrative text.
Videos give them stimulus about certain topics so that they can easily
construct and generate the ideas into a narrative story based on the video
given. They can also arrange the better paragraphs based on the generic
structure of narrative text.
2. Short videos can improve the students’ motivation. The videos provide
various materials that attract the students’ interest to join the lesson from the
beginning until the end of the lesson. Therefore, during teaching learning
process, they follow all of activities conducted in the class well.
xcii
3. Short videos can improve the students’ self confidence in English class.
Especially in writing, the students are more confident when they are asked to
make a story after watching the videos because they can get some stimulus
about certain topics from the video they watched.
4. Videos provide various materials which can attract the students’ interest.
There are so many videos with an attractive pictures and sounds. By playing
the attractive videos, the students will get interest and motivation in
involving actively to the teaching learning process.
Based on the discussion of the findings, the researcher constructs some
theories related to the findings. The theories are presented as follows:
1. Video is able to improve student’ writing skill in the aspect of generating
ideas and organizing the story.
According to Katchen (1995) in http://mx.nthu.edu.tw/~katchen/profes
sional/cartoons.htm, short video, especially cartoon films usually tell a simple
story that is easy to follow. Cartoon story usually has a simple plot that can be
exploited for classroom use. By following the videos with this simple story
line from the beginning into the end, the students can get easily understand
about the organization of the text. On the other words, the use of short videos
in classroom can stimulate the students about simple story that can be
generated by them onto a paper in order to make a well-structured writing.
2. Video is able to improve students’ motivation and interest towards English
lesson.
xciii
As what has been said by Stemplesky (1990:3), children and adults
feel their interest quicken when language is experienced in a lively way
through television and video. This combination of moving pictures and sound
can present language more comprehensively and realistically than any other
teaching medium. Using video in a class can become the best thing to
experience the sequence in real life.
CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION, IMPLICATION, AND SUGGESTION
A. Conclusion
xciv
Based on the discussion in the previous chapter, the findings of the results
show the positive improvements in students’ writing skill and class situation. The
findings are as follows:
3. The positive improvement of students’ attitude towards writing during the
teaching learning process, indicated by the students were more motivated
and confident to write individually after watching the videos; some students
discussed actively about the video in their own group; most students could
start their task better without wasting the time and involved in their group
actively; some students focused on their task and sometimes asked questions
to the researcher and their teacher in joint construction session. Meanwhile,
few students still made errors in using appropriate words.
4. The improvement in students’ writing skill, such as; the students could write
a story with more detailed information; the students could make longer
paragraph with sufficient supporting details; the students could organize
their story better from the beginning, middle, and ending; the students could
finish their story until the end on time; the students could make some
opening sentences in various ways better; the students could make past
sentences better and were more careful in constructing past sentences; the
students could change the verb1 into verb2 in correct forms and were able to
use appropriate vocabulary better. In short, the students could write a
narrative text well. Then, the computation of the level of significance of the
score (t-test) also showed that there was a significant improvement in
xcv
students’ writing skill. It was proved by the result of the t-test computation
which was higher than the t-table.
Based on the research findings above, the researcher concludes that
teaching writing by using short videos can improve students’ writing skill. They
got easier in generating and organizing the ideas when they write. The videos that
they watched could give the students certain topics. They could write scene by
scene on the videos so that they would produce systematic writing from beginning
until the end. From the computation of level of significance in the students’ test
score, it can be concluded that the improvement of the students writing skill by
using short videos is significant. The result of the t-test shows that the value of the
t-test between the pre-test and the post-test 2 was 8.77. Meanwhile, the t table (tt)
for 34 students is 2.04. Since (to)2 is higher than tt, it means that there is a
significant difference between the score in the pre-test and post-test 2.
The second point to be concluded is there are some strengths of using
short videos in teaching writing which can improve the students’ attitude towards
writing in the writing class situation during the teaching learning process. By
using the short videos in the writing class, the students were more motivated in
joining the writing class. The videos present attractive moving pictures and
sounds so that they got feeling of relax before they write their story. They paid
much attention when the videos were played. They were also more confident
when they were asked to write individually. However, there is still a weakness of
using short videos in writing class. Few students still got difficulties in finding
appropriate words with the correct spelling.
xcvi
Generally, using short videos in writing class can improve students’
writing skill and students’ attitude towards writing. Somehow, this teaching
writing technique is not the only thing that can improve the students’ writing skill.
It should be supported by the other things, such as the teacher’s role in the class,
the student’s activeness, etc. in order to achieve the maximum result of the
student’s writing skill.
B. Implication
Based on the result’s observation which is aimed to improve the students’
writing skill by using short videos, the researcher concludes that teaching writing
by using short videos can improves the students’ writing skill. Practically, the use
of short video is an appropriate teaching technique which enables the students to
share their feeling and opinion about a certain topic. Especially in writing, videos
help the students in generating ideas and organizing paragraphs more easily. They
can get something to say in their paper by watching the video. The videos give
them stimulus about certain topics to brainstorm the students so that they can
write with detailed information as what is presented in the video. By using this
media, the students can easily imagine about a story which will be written down
in a paper. The students can also learn more by the guidance of their teacher.
Using short videos in teaching writing can also improves the students’
interest toward the lesson. Videos provide interesting moving pictures and sound
which is presented in harmony. The choosing of video is very important, suited by
xcvii
the subject of the viewer. With the suitable videos, the students will be interested
in joining the lesson. In the classroom, the students were eager to join activities
and actively involved in teaching learning process. So, by using short videos in
teaching writing, the students’ writing skill can be improved.
C. Suggestion
The writer would like to give some suggestions related to this research for
teachers, students, institution of education, and other researchers. The suggestions
can be put forward as follows:
1. To the Teachers
The English teacher, especially the teachers who teach in Junior High School,
should create an enjoyable situation in teaching learning process so that the
students can involve actively in class. They can use various techniques in
teaching writing in order to maintain the students’ interest toward the lesson.
Teaching writing using video can be a good choice as a technique which can
be implemented in the writing class. By doing this, the students are motivated
in joining the class and are not easy to feel bored in teaching learning process.
2. To the Students
The students should have a will and high motivation from themselves first if
they want to learn English. The motivation and will which come from them
will lead them to be successful in studying English. Beside that, the students
xcviii
should also involve actively in English class and practice the English
frequently. If it is done, studying English will be easy and enjoyable.
3. To the Institution of Education
The Education Institution should provide facilities and media which can
support the teaching learning process. By using appropriate facilities and
media in class, teaching learning process can run more effectively. It can also
gain the students’ interest and motivation in studying a subject at school.
4. To the Other Researcher
This research studies the implementation of the use of videos in improving
students’ writing skill. It is expected for the other researcher that the result of
this study can be used as additional reference for further research conducted in
the future in order to create a better teaching learning process. They should
also do the research further to find out the weakness which still happened.
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