PROPOSAL

INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the Study

Speaking is an essential tool for communicating, thinking, and learning. Oral language is a powerful learning tool. It shapes, modifies, extends, and organizes thought. Oral language is a foundation of all language development and, therefore, the foundation of all learning. It is the base for the other language strands. Through speaking and listening, students learn concepts, develop vocabulary, and perceive the structure of the English language which is essential components of learning. Students who have a strong oral oral languag languagee base base have an academ academic ic advant advantage age.. School School achiev achieveme ement nt depends depends on students' ability to display knowledge in a clear and acceptable form in speaking as well as writing. Additionally, mastering speaking skills in learning English is a priority for many second-langu second-language age or foreign-la foreign-language nguage learners. learners. Consequently Consequently,, learners learners often evaluate evaluate their success in language learning as well as the effectiveness of their English course on the the basi basiss of how how much much they they feel feel they they have have impr improve oved d in thei theirr spok spoken en lang langua uage ge  proficiency (Richards, 1990: 21). Consid Consideri ering ng how import important ant speaki speaking ng skill skill in learni learning ng Englis English, h, Renand Renandya, ya, (1999:230) in this case reminds English teachers by saying: Speaking is one of the central elements of communication. In EFL (English Foreigner language) teaching, it is an aspect that needs special attention and instruction. In order to provide effective attention, it is necessary for a teacher  of EFL to carefu carefully lly examine examine the factor factors, s, conditi condition on and compone components nts that that underlie underlie speaking speaking effecti effectivenes veness. s. Effecti Effective ve instruc instruction tion derived derived from from the careful analysis of this area, together with sufficient language input and

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speech-promotion activities will gradually help learners improve their English speaking ability. In addition, Richard (1990: 122) explains the typical learners’ problems in speaking like speaking slowly, taking too long to compose utterances, incapable to   participate actively in conversation, spoken English doesn’t sound natural, poor  grammar and poor pronunciation. Besides there are many reasons causing English learners poor in speaking skills. They are as lack of curriculum emphasis on speaking skills, teachers’ limited English proficiency, class conditions do not favor oral activities, limited opportunities outside of class to practice, and examination system does not emphasize oral skills. So based on the explanation above the researchers has found some problems which nearly similar to those five typical problems explained by Richard above in MAN Jangka. The problems are the students in the school are speechless and when they speak  English, they take so much time thinking what they are going to say. These problems are  presented based on the researcher’s first observation and interview in the school before going to this proposal and problems are also have been approved by one of the teachers who teaches English in the school whose name is Mr. Wardi. So based on those   problems, the researcher, as a one of English Department students of Almuslim University who nearly completes his study in the University, would like to do a collaborative action research in the school to help both the teachers and students in the school find a proper way in teaching speaking which can improve the students speaking ability.

Anyway, there are many kinds of language methods in teaching language in a second or foreign language but only three methods; grammar translation method, audiolingual method and communicative method have dominated language teaching in the United States in the past 60 years. The three of them have their respective advantageous and disadvantageous but out of the three, communicative method is considered the most effective one to be used in language teaching especially to teach speaking since it   provides more opportunity for English learners to speak than to the teachers during teaching – learning process (Kathleen:18). Moreover, there is a research (Ellis: 1990) which says that people do not learn the pieces of the language and then put them together to make conversations. Instead, they learn the components of language through interaction with other people, so learners should interact during lessons. As a result, communicative language teaching arose and rapidly developed. In this research, the researcher is interested in choosing story completion as a technique that will be applied in this research because it can be presented easily, students will have much time to practice their speaking ability and it makes students more active in teaching and learning process and at the same time makes their learning more meaningful and fun for them.

1.2 Problem of the Research

Having explained the problems of this research in the previous section generally, 3

in this section, the researcher formulates the problems of the research into two simple questions as the following: 1. Can story completion develop the students’ speaking ability? 2. What are the advantages of applying story completion in teaching speaking?

1.3 Purpose of the Research

The researcher draws the purpose of the research as follows: 1. To know if story completion can develop the students’ speaking ability 2. To research the advantages of applying story completion in teaching speaking

1.4 Significance of the Research

In this section, the researcher draws you some significances of the research from the view of theoretical and practical significances as the following: 1. Theoretical significances. -

With any luck, this research can develop the students’ speaking ability.

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Perhaps, this research can develop the quality of English education in the school.

2. Practical significances -

Hopefully, the result of this research is applied by others English teachers in facing the same problem as drawn in this research.

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Perhaps, this technique can be an appropriate way in teaching speaking to the students in the school.

1.5 Scope of the Research

The research focuses on the effect of using story completion in teaching speaking to the second grade students of MAN Jangka in order to find a proper technique in teaching speaking that can develop the students speaking ability. In the story completion, firstly the teacher starts to tell a story, but after a few sentences he or she stops narrating and each student is supposed to add from four to ten sentences based on the story topic that has been prepared by the teacher.

1.6 Definition of the Key Terms

In this thesis, the researcher gives some explanation of some key terms that   predominantly appear in this proposal. These key terms explanation’s function is to make the readers understand exactly about the words or phrases. 1. Speaking is any process in which people share information, ideas and feeling, it involves all of body language characteristic and style-anything that adds meaning to a message. 2. Story Completion is a technique that is used by the teacher to motivate students in narrating a story continually between teacher-student and also student-student. In this research, story completion is an activity that will be created by teacher to  promote students’ speaking ability. 3. Classroom Action Research is a form of reflective research that is conducted by teacher which its result can be used as a tool to improve the teaching and learning.

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1.7 Review of the Related Literature.

In this section of the proposal, the researcher will explain you more in detail about some of the variables that lie in this research.

1.7.1 Definition of speaking

Speaking is a vehicle to link individuals to society. Exchanges students have with their peers and teachers can help them come to know the world in more personal and socially responsible ways. When students talk about their ideas, they clarify their  thinking. They can figure out what they believe and where they stand on issues (Hayriye: http://unr.edu/homepage/hayriyek ).

Moreover, Hybel (2001:45) states:

“speaking is any process in which people share information, ideas and feeling, it involves all of body language mannerism and style-anything that adds meaning to a message”. Chaney (1998: 13) says that speaking is the process of building and sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols, in a variety of contexts. Speaking is a crucial part of second and foreign language learning and teaching. Despite its importance, for many years, teaching speaking has been undervalued and English language teachers have continued to teach speaking just as a repetition of drills or  memorization of dialogues. However, today's world requires that the goal of teaching speaking should improve students' communicative skills, because, only in that way, students can express themselves and learn how to follow the social and cultural rules appropriate in each communicative circumstance.

Furthermore speaking is one of the central elements of communication. In EFL (English as Foreigner language) teaching, it is an aspect that needs special attention and instruction. In order to provide effective attention, it is necessary for a teacher of EFL to carefully examine the factors, condition and components that underlie speaking effectiveness. Effective instruction derived from the careful analysis of this area, together with sufficient language input and speech-promotion activities will gradually help learners improve their English speaking ability (Richards, 1999:230).

1.7.2 Teaching Speaking

Speaking English is the main goal of many adult learners. Their personalities  play a large role in determining how quickly and how correctly they will accomplish this goal. Those who are risk-takers unafraid of making mistakes will generally be more talkative, but with many errors that could become hard-to-break habits. Conservative, shy students may take a long time to speak confidently, but when they do, their English often contains fewer errors and they will be proud of their English ability. It's a matter of  quantity vs. quality, and neither approach is wrong. However, if the aim of speaking is communication and that does not require perfect English, then it makes sense to encourage quantity in your classroom. Break the silence and get students communicating with whatever English they can use, correct or not, and selectively address errors that  block communication. Speaking lessons often tie in pronunciation and grammar (discussed elsewhere in this guide), which are necessary for effective oral communication. Or a grammar or 

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reading lesson may incorporate a speaking activity. Either way, your students will need some preparation before the speaking task. This includes introducing the topic and   providing a model of the speech they are to produce. A model may not apply to discussion-type activities, in which case students will need clear and specific instructions about the task to be accomplished. Then the students will practice with the actual speaking activity. These activities may include imitating (repeating), answering verbal cues, interactive conversation, or an oral presentation. Most speaking activities inherently  practice listening skills as well, such as when one student is given a simple drawing and sits behind another student, facing away. The first must give instructions to the second to reproduce the drawing. The second student asks questions to clarify unclear instructions, and neither can look at each other's page during the activity. Information gaps are also commonly used for speaking practice, as are surveys, discussions, and role-plays. Here are some ideas to keep in mind as you plan your speaking activities. •

Content

As much as possible, the content should be practical and usable in real-life situations. Avoid too much new vocabulary or grammar, and focus on speaking with the language the students have. •

Correcting Errors

You need to provide appropriate feedback and correction, but don't interrupt the flow of communication. Take notes while pairs or groups are talking and address  problems to the class after the activity without embarrassing the student who

made the error. You can write the error on the board and ask who can correct it. •

Quantity vs. Quality

Address

both interactive

fluency

and

accuracy,

striving foremost for 

communication. Get to know each learner's personality and encourage the quieter  ones to take more risks. •

Conversation Strategies

Encourage strategies like asking for clarification, paraphrasing, gestures, and initiating ('hey,' 'so,' 'by the way'). •

Teacher Intervention

If a speaking activity loses steam, you may need to jump into a role-play, ask  more discussion questions, clarify your instructions, or stop an activity that is too difficult or boring.

1.8. Methodology of the Research

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The methodology of this research will be done through the following explanation  below. 1.8.1 Design of the Research.

The design of the study is Collaborative Classroom Action Research. As it explained by Asrori, (2008:45) that Collaborative Classroom Action Research is kind of  a Classroom Action Research that involves some people like the principal, teacher, lectures, or etc simultaneously. It aims to improve teaching practical quality, contribute teaching theoretical development or educational and teacher career progression. This kind of research is usually designed by a team which consists of teacher, researcher from educational university and principal of school. The relationship between of researcher  and the teacher are considered as coworkers. Through the cooperative working in doing the research, they can obtain the satisfied goal of the research. Therefore, in this research the researcher together with the assistance of another  related teacher and the principal of the school will do the research in team work. The researcher adds that they will be very pleasant and supportive helping the researcher in doing this research. Action research is done through many repeated cycles and there are at least two cycles in action research. Each cycle consists of four steps; planning, action, observation and reflection (Asrori, 2008:90). The activities that will be done in each step of the cycles will be based on Stephen Kemmis dan Robin Mc Taggert guidance in (Arikunto, 2005:54). The activities are described in the following:

1. Planning In this step the team will prepare everything for the completion of the action in the class like designing a lesson plan, verifying the schedule, and etc. 2.

Action In this step, the team will choose a proper teacher to do the action which has

 been prepared by the team the planning step. 3. Observation In this step, the researcher will observe students’ motivation and behavior, the classroom atmosphere, the advantageous of applying interview in teaching speaking and etc during the action process. 4.

Reflection In this step, the researcher together with the team will reflect on the effects of the

above steps as a basis for further planning, subsequent action and so on, through a succession of  cycles.

1.8.2 Setting and Subject

This research will be done at MAN Jangka. The population of this study is the whole of the second great students of MAN Jangka. Since there are three second grades in the school. The researcher does not take all the classes to be the subject of the research. Therefore the researcher decides to take only one class as the subject of this research to make the researcher easier in collecting the data. The class consists of 45 students. The reason why the researcher takes one class is because the subject in

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Classroom Action Research is only one class (Asrori, 2008:5).

1.8.3 Technique of the Data Collecting

In collecting the data, the researcher will ask the subject of this research to answer the pre-test and post-test. Pre-test is done at the beginning of each cycle right  before action step is implemented and post-test is done at the end of the cycle before reflection step. Furthermore, the researcher also use observation sheets as an instrument in collecting the data. Its functions are the following: 1. To assess the students’ motivation during the learning process. 2. To check the students’ speaking improvement during the class. 3. To find out the advantages of using story completion in teaching English speaking. 4. To check the students’ attitude while participating in the action learning  process. For the completion of Research methodology will be explained further in detail in chapter III of the research.