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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Research One of the language skills that must be mastered by language learners is the ability to speak or communicate in the target language fluently. The mastery of speaking skills in English is a priority for many second-language or foreign-language learners. Consequently, learners often evaluate their success in language learning as well as the effectiveness of their English course on the basis of how much they feel they have improved in their spoken language proficiency. Furthermore, speaking is one of the most difficult aspects for students to master. This is hardly surprising when one considers everything that is involved when speaking: ideas, what to say, language, how to use grammar and vocabulary, pronunciation as well as listening to and reacting to the person you are communicating with. Any learner of a foreign language can confirm how difficult speaking is. It is important to give students as many opportunities as possible to speak in a supportive environment. Gaining confidence will help students speak more easily. You can achieve this by: setting controlled speaking tasks and moving gradually towards freer speaking tasks; setting tasks that are at the right level for the students or at a level lower than their receptive skills; setting tasks that are easily achievable and gradually moving towards more challenging tasks; praising students efforts; using error correction sensitively; creating an atmosphere where students dont laugh at other peoples efforts (Pollard: 2008:33).

It has long been recognized that speaking skill is very important in learning a language, since the success of using a language especially second and foreign language in real life situation can be measured through speaking. For example, someone can be told that he or she is capable of speaking English if he or she is able to show his or her English by practicing it through speaking. In Addition, Richards (2002:204) says: learning to speak a language requires more than knowing its grammatical and semantic rules. Knowledge of how native speakers use the language in the context of structured interpersonal exchange in which many factors interact. Therefore it is difficult for EFL learners, especially adults, to speak the target language fluently and appropriately. Realizing how complex speaking is, the researcher has undergone some difficulties when he taught English speaking at third year students class of MTsN Dewantara whose speaking skill is still considered very low. Again, they are less motivated and reluctant to get involved actively in the English teaching and learning process. Some techniques and approaches have been employed by the teachers in the school in teaching them English, nevertheless it is still less to give interest to the students in learning English. This problem is found by the researcher during teaching practicum (PPL) for about 2 months. Actually, Richards (2002:206) explains: There are many factors cause students reluctant to communicate in English some of those are cultural factors, linguistic factors, effective factors etc. Here the researcher only provides you a little detail explanation of effective factors since it is related so much with the research being done by the researcher. The effective factors include culture shock, previous negative social and political experiences, lack of motivation, anxiety and shyness in class, especially if their previous learning experiences were negative.

However many studies have shown that most of the students of the English as a Foreign Language frequently get difficulties in improving their English speaking ability since they are accustomed to use their native language in their daily life and primarily he activity that they have in English class does not make and force them to use English. Consequently the students are not motivated and reluctant to learn and use English. Furthermore, concerning with the speaking activities, as a matter of fact, in teaching English, most students are reluctant to speak. As we know that that the most difficult part of the task of teachers in teaching English especially in speaking class lies on how to encourage students to speak. The student seems often reluctant to speak when they involved in speaking class activities. These problems appear at the Therefore based on that condition, the researcher in this research tried to solve the problems by offering one teaching technique; improving students speaking ability through pair works. This effort is believed that it can give positive effect and joyful learning to English students in developing their speaking skill (Watcyn, 1997:4). Finally, the researcher concludes that mastery of speaking skills in English is a priority for many second-language or foreign-language learners and English Students often get difficulties in learning to improving their speaking ability. Besides that pair works is a good technique to be used in teaching English to improve students speaking ability.

1.2 Problem of the Research. In this part of the proposal, the researcher draws the problem explained above through the questions below: 1. Can pair work improve the students speaking ability? 2. Can pair work encourage the students in learning English in class? 3. What are the advantages of applying pair work in teaching speaking?

1.3 Purpose of the Research 1. To know if pair works can improve the students speaking ability. 2. To find out if pair work encourage the students in learning English in class. 3. To find out what are the advantages of applying pair work in teaching speaking.

1.4 Significance of the Research In this part of the research, the researcher describes some significances of the research as the following: 1. Theorically, this research can be a good input either for the students or the teachers in the school as an attempt to improve the students speaking ability and gives good contribution either for the researcher or the readers in developing speaking skill. 2. Practically, it can be used by the teachers in the school as a model in teaching English to improve the students speaking ability and improve the students speaking ability.

1.5 Scope of the Research Since there are many components lie in speaking skill like, fluency, grammar, pronunciation and etc. the researcher only focused the research on improving the students speaking skill in getting to know each other by giving them an appropriate speaking material through pair works technique

1.6 Definition of the Key Terms. In this study, the researcher gave some explanation of some key terms that predominantly used in it. These key terms explanations function is to get the readers understand accurately about the words or phrases. 1. Speaking ability is the ability of students in conveying information or expressing thoughts, ideas and feelings in spoken language. 2. Pair works is a technique in teaching English to increase students opportunities to use English as many as possible in class. 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 (Asrori, 2008:4).

CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

2.1 Speaking 2.1.1 Definition of Speaking Burns and Joyce in Selvi (2004:15) begin their discussion on the nature of speaking by distinguishing between spoken and written language. They point out that when speech is written down; it appears far more disorganized and chaotic than written language. Yet, in real spoken interactions, speakers are readily able to understand and respond to each other. This suggests that speech, far from being disorganized, has its own systematic patterns and structures. Written language, on the other hand is characterized by well-formed sentences which are integrated into highly structured paragraph. Burns and Joyce in Selvi (2004:15) also draw a useful distinction in terms of the situation in which spoken and written texts are produced. As written texts are not tied to the immediate context, they can be drafted and redrafted until the researcher produces a final and polished version. In contrast, spoken texts must be produced as the speaker proceeds, and as a result that speech is full of hesitations, repetitions overlaps and incomplete clauses. Based on the descriptions above, it seems that the feature of speech that underlies the view that speaking is ungrammatical. However, it is not so much the case that speech is ungrammatical but that speech and writing are grammatical in different ways.

Furthermore, 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. Therefore it is the foundation of all learning. 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 language base have an academic advantage. School achievement depends on students' ability to display knowledge in a clear and acceptable form in speaking as well as writing (Hayriye: 2000:1). It means that the students who have good speaking ability would find many advantages at school or at university. Additionally, speaking is a vehicle to link individuals to society. Exchanges students and excellent teachers can help them 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, 2000:1). This means that speaking is like a transport to link someone to his community. Without having good speaking skill, people just cannot communicate each other. According to Hybel (2001:45), 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. This paragraph means speaking is a tool to delivery ideas or message.

2.1.2 The Importance of Speaking Skill Speaking is an interactive process in constructing meaning that involves producing, receiving, and processing information orally (florez, 1999:22). Besides Gatenby (1972:76) argues that what is essential in learning a language is that the language being studied should be, as far as possible, the sole medium of communication in any given environment. He further states that in order to be learnt, a language must be used. This implies that whenever communication takes place, it involves speaking and whenever speaking takes place, it must belong to a certain language. To make clear about the nature of speaking, we refer to definition of speaking itself. Speaking refers to the act of expressing thought, ideas and feelings by using audible symbol or visible bodily action so that we can expect listeners to understand the meaning of the message that we convey. The speaker can ask questions, answer questions, influence others, give directions, and generalization. What do we need to know and be able to speak in another language? One to know how to articulate the sounds in a comprehensible manner, have adequate vocabulary and master syntax of the language. Hymes in Nunan (1999:26) proposed the notion of communicative competence as an alternative Chomskys linguistic competence. Communicative competence includes not only linguistic competence, but also range of other sociolinguistic and conversational skills that enable the speaker to know how to say what to whom, and when.

2.1.3 The Purpose of Speaking The basic assumption in any oral interaction is that the speakers want to communicate ideas, feelings, attitudes, and information to the listener. Rivers (1981) in Selvi (2004:18) explicitly states that through speaking one expresses emotions, communicates intentions, reacts to other persons and situations, or influences other human being. Stating opinion clearly in speaking supported by sufficient reasons will enable the speaker to reach the goal of his/her speech to satisfy others. Speaking can also generate four abilities on the part of the learners when they are fully involved in speaking instruction to think creatively, to communicate thought, to make relevant judgment, and to discriminate among values (Balcer and Seabury, l965) in Selvi (2004:18). The ability to speak a second or foreign language well is a very complex task if we try to understand the nature of what appears to be involved. To begin with, speaking is used for many different purposes, and each purpose involves different skills. When we use casual conversation, for example our purposes may be to make social contact with people, to establish rapport, or to engage in the harmless chitchat that occupies much of the time we spend with friends. Each of these different purposes for speaking implies knowledge of the rules that account for how spoken language reflects the context or situation in which speech occurs, the participants and their specific roles and relationships, and the kind of activity the speakers are involved in.

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2.1.4 Learners Typical Problem and Its Reasons in Learning English In this case, Richard (1990: 222) explains the typical learner problems in speaking as follows: 1. Speaks slowly and takes too long to compose utterances 2. Cannot participate actively in conversation 3. Spoken English doesnt sound natural 4. Poor grammar 5. Poor pronunciation Also Richard (1990: 233) says that there are many reasons cause English learners poor in speaking skills. There are as follows: 1. Lack of curriculum emphasis on speaking skills 2. Teachers limited English proficiency 3. Class conditions do not favor oral activities 4. Limited opportunities outside of class to practice 5. Examination system does not emphasize oral skills Hawes (1994:45) reveals that most of EFL teachers have often complained about their learners, because they often do not pay attention to the instruction even reluctant to participate actively in speaking class. Actually there are some factors influenced, one of them is the activities which are provided by teachers in classroom. Brown (1994:266), states that the activities which are given by teachers may attract students motivation to involve in speaking class.

2.1.5 Teaching Speaking Nunan (2003: 23) in this case formulates what is meant by teaching speaking:

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1. 2.

Produce the English speech sounds and sound patterns Use word and sentence stress, intonation patterns and the rhythm of the second language.

3.

Select appropriate words and sentences according to the proper social setting, audience, situation and subject matter.

4. 5. 6.

Organize their thoughts in a meaningful and logical sequence. Use language as a means of expressing values and judgments. Use the language quickly and confidently with few unnatural pauses, which is called as fluency. In addition, Hayriye (2006:1) provides some Suggestions for English teachers

in teaching speaking. As you see in the following:

1.

Provide maximum opportunity to students to speak the target language by providing a rich environment that contains collaborative work, authentic materials and tasks, and shared knowledge.

2.

Try to involve each student in every speaking activity; for this aim, practice different ways of student participation.

3.

Reduce teacher speaking time in class while increasing student speaking time. Step back and observe students.

4. 5.

Indicate positive signs when commenting on a student's response. Ask eliciting questions such as "What do you mean? How did you reach that conclusion?" in order to prompt students to speak more.

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6.

Provide written feedback like "Your presentation was really great. It was a good job. I really appreciated your efforts in preparing the materials and efficient use of your voice"

7.

Do not correct students' pronunciation mistakes very often while they are speaking. Correction should not distract student from his or her speech.

8.

Involve speaking activities not only in class but also out of class; contact parents and other people who can help.

9.

Circulate around classroom to ensure that students are on the right track and see whether they need your help while they work in groups or pairs.

10. 11.

Provide the vocabulary beforehand that students need in speaking activities. Diagnose problems faced by students who have difficulty in expressing themselves in the target language and provide more opportunities to practice the spoken language.

2.16 Key Elements in Teaching Speaking Skill Speaking is one of the most difficult aspects for students to master. This is hardly surprising when one considers everything that is involved when speaking: ideas, what to say, language, how to use grammar and vocabulary, pronunciation as well as listening to and reacting to the person you are communicating with. Any learner of a foreign language can confirm how difficult speaking is. It is important to give students as many opportunities as possible to speak in a supportive environment. Gaining confidence will help students speak more easily. An English teacher can achieve this by:

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Setting controlled speaking tasks and moving gradually towards freer speaking tasks.

Setting tasks that are at the right level for the students or at a level lower than their receptive skills.

Setting tasks that are easily achievable and gradually moving towards more challenging tasks.

Praising students efforts. Using error correction sensitively. Creating an atmosphere where students dont laugh at other peoples efforts. There are three key elements to remember when planning and setting up

speaking activities: 1. Language used 2. Preparation 3. Why are the students speaking? (Pollard, 2008:33).

2.1.6.1 Language Used When planning any speaking activity with students, a teacher should analyse carefully the language they will be using to carry out the activity. If the teacher uses an activity from an EFL book, he will probably find comments on the language. If not, he should think about what he would say when doing the activity and consider whether his students have learnt the language items yet. The teacher should not make any assumptions about students knowledge. He should spend some time in class reviewing the language that will be used. If students dont have the language required to carry out the task, the results will be

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demotivation and frustration. Students might even resort to doing the task in their own language. Of course, the teacher can work on the language in one lesson and review it very quickly in the following lesson before doing the speaking work (Pollard, 2008:34).

2.1.6.2 Preparation Preparation is vital as it will help students to speak more easily. One aspect of preparation is warming students up to the subject matter. If they are to communicate well, its important to engage them in the topic. This can be done by checking their prior knowledge and experience of the topic for example if the speaking task is based on driving in big cities, ask them about their experiences of driving in big cities, what they think about it, the teacher should ask the students to have any anecdotes or unpleasant experiences they could share with the class and so on. Its also important to give students time to prepare what they are going to say and how theyre going to say it. This preparation can be done in pairs or groups. Give them time to consider their ideas and think about the language they will use. They can also do mini-rehearsals, which will build up their confidence and improve the end result (Pollard, 2008:34).

2.1.6.3 Reason for Speaking Students need to feel that there is a real reason for speaking. This is often referred to as the communicative element. Make sure there is a reason for speaking; as that the students are communicating something the others dont know or that the others would like to hear about. Examples of tasks involving real communication

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include: information gap, tasks involving an element of persuasion, problem solving and role play ((Pollard, 2008:34).

2.1.7 Assessing Speaking Skill Speaking is probably the most difficult skill to assess. As it is a complex skill that includes many aspects of language, and influenced by many factors, the accurate measurement of that ability is not easy. Heaton (1988:43) stated that are some difficulties (challenges) in testing speaking skill. They are the subjective factors in making judgment, the administration of time in oral testing especially on a large number of students, the difficulties in setting up the criteria for measuring the speaking skill and the selection of the activities or the format of speaking test. Another problem in assessing oral language in the classroom as OMalley (1996) in Selvi (2004:23) states is its lack of authenticity. Authenticity in oral language assessment means here, relates to both the type of language used and the task to which that language is applied Assessment of oral languages supposed to focus on a students ability to interpret and convey meaning for authentic purposes in interactive contexts. Furthermore OMalley in Selvi (2004:23) said: Teachers need to use assessment tasks that are as authentic as possible in a classroom setting. This means: (1) using authentic language in listening/speaking activities; (2) setting real-world tasks, such as getting the gist of a message, listening selectively, describing, giving directions, and giving opinions; and (3) giving students opportunities to use language in situations based on everyday life. When a teacher assesses spoken language, actually, she is interested in two things. The first is how the students are likely to use language in social situations.

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The second is how well they have learnt what the teacher has taught them (Burns and Joyce, 1997, OMalley, 1996) in (Selvi, 2004:23). In order to get the answers, most assessment situations used by the teacher is by asking students to participate in an interview or an activity that will enable them to produce spoken language. In this case, cooperative learning that present students with opportunities to use oral language to interact with others whether for social or academic purpose, as OMalley suggests, are optimal for assessing oral Language.

2.1.8 Several Techniques of Teaching Speaking Teacher needs to give their students many opportunities to practice speaking. They will need to use their imaginations in devising situation which provoke the use of language in expression of the students own meaning, even when student have very limited resources on which to draw, From the very beginning levels of language learning students need to: (1) experiences various kinds of spoken texts, (2) develop knowledge about how Social and culture contexts affect the type of spoken language used, (3) learn how to participate in spoken interaction, (4) expend their language resources and learn to use a range of spoken language strategies, (5) learn how different spoken texts are constructed, (6) develop greater control of the systems of vocabulary, grammar, phonology and intonation, (7) develop skills which will enable them to predict what will occur in a conversation, and (improve their accuracy and fluency (Rizal, 2008:10)

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2.2 Pair Work These will be essential tools as a teacher. Pair work involves students working together in pairs; so, in a group of 18 students, youd have 9 pairs working independently. Group work involves students working together in groups of 3, 4, 5 etc. You can ask students to work in pairs or groups to complete a course book exercise, to produce a piece of writing, to prepare what they will present to the class, to carry out a speaking activity or to check their answers to homework. In fact the possibilities are endless. There are many advantages to having your students working in groups or in pairs: First of all, it provides variety. It gives a different focus by taking the attention away from the teacher; when working in pairs or groups, students go at the speed that suits them. When working as a whole class, the pace is set by the teacher or by other students. Working at their own pace, students can spend more time on points that cause them difficulties and less time on points that they find easy. Thus using time more Efficiently; Students are more actively involved in their work: no snoozing at the back of the classroom!; Students can share their knowledge, explain things to each other; this is an advantage over having students work individually; It increases STT (Students Talking Time) whilst reducing TTT (Teachers Talking Time); Students learn to work autonomously; they learn to do things without the teacher. This will help them in their learning outside the classroom. Of course, the teacher is on hand if required; every student has the opportunity to contribute; this is almost impossible when conducting teacher-led activities. Consider a 20-minute speaking activity. If

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you choose to perform it as a whole-class activity with a group of 20 students, each student will speak for an average of 1 minute. If your students do the same activity in pairs for 20 minutes, each student gets the chance to speak for 10 minutes (Pollard: 2008:8-9).

2.2.1 The Way to Organize Group and Pair Work At the beginning, its probably easiest if a teacher just asks the students to work with whoever is sitting next to them. The teacher can go around the class saying, you two work together, you two work together etc. Have students work with their neighbors for a few lessons. This allows students to get used to pair work and group work; it might be completely new to them. Always working with the same person will provide a comforting routine until they are used to this way of working. If they work with a familiar person, it will be easier for them. You can start grouping students differently when they are used to that way of working. In fact, its advisable to change the make-up of groups to help avoid overfamiliarity. By working with others, students can discover other ways of working and speaking. Dividing students in different ways helps you to separate the noisy students and also to see which students work well together. It also contributes to a sense of cooperation in the classroom. If you have a group of students of mixed-level, you might ask all the strong students to work together which allows them to do a more challenging task whilst the students who are not so strong do a less challenging task. Alternatively, you could put stronger students to work with weaker students, which allows strong students to explain difficult points to the weaker ones.

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If the class is discussing a gender-related topic, it might be interesting to ask all females to work together and all males to work together. Alternatively, you could mix males and females. The same might be applied to age-related topics, city and suburb dwellers, etc. Think about how you would like groups to be formed before going into class. Always remember that if you are asking students to move to form a group (rather than just asking them to work with their closest neighbors), it will take a few minutes to organize. You will need to factor this into your lesson plan (Pollard: 2008:9).

2.2.2 What does the Teacher Do during Pair and Group Work? A teacher can quite simply let students get on with the task. However, this doesnt mean ignoring them and letting the task disintegrate. He can allow them to work at their pace and in a way that suits them. The teacher offers help when necessary and answer students questions. A teacher can let them know that time is closing in example just five minutes to complete what youre doing. Then the teacher monitor what is going on. Whilst monitoring, the teacher notes down mistakes and examples of good work. There are two ways of monitoring: walk around the class, hover over every pair or group for a minute or so to listen to what they are doing. This allows the teacher to focus intensively on each group or pair. There is a disadvantage here, however: students sometimes freeze up and look to the teacher for assistance, which defeats the purpose of group and pair work. Personally, the researcher prefers a different approach in a classroom where the size permits. The researcher arranges the groups or pairs in a horseshoe around the room and the researcher sits in the middle of that

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horseshoe. The researcher then concentrates his attention on each pair or group in turn without moving. The teacher would be amazed at how much he can hear. This approach also means that a teacher does not have to go back to some of the students. After pair work or group work, ask students what they discussed, check answers, and ask them what decisions they came to, and so on (depending on the task you set). During this stage the teacher can also clear up any questions the students may have and review errors and examples of good work (Pollard: 2008:10).

2.2.3 Advantages and Disadvantages of Pair Works Pair work and group work give the students far more chances to speak English in the classroom. Students participate in the lesson much more actively because they are involved in talking to their friends exchanging opinions, practicing new structures more than listening to their teacher talking. This is important in our Polish schools when English lessons usually take place three times a week, teachers have to practice, develop all the language skills and it happens that there is no time left for speaking. So if a teacher has ten minutes left during the lesson it is better to divide the class into groups and pairs and to give the learners opportunity to really use the language to communicate with each other. According to Long and his colleagues who investigated differences in the quantity and quality of student language in pair work versus teacher centered activities the language produced by students working in groups is more varied and greater in quantity. Learners take the initiative to express themselves, they are more spontaneous. Asking questions and responding they use more language functions. (Aneta, 2008:1)

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By dividing the classes into groups students get more opportunities to talk than in full class organization and each student can say something. Penny Ur recommends that teachers working with large classes should divide them into five groups which is the most effective organization for practicing speaking (Aneta, 2008:1). It is advisable for teachers to spend at least one lesson a month devoted only to speaking. If the topics are adequate to the learners' interests and level such a lesson can be really effective and give a lot of satisfaction both to the learner and the teacher. We should always remember how important the ability to communicate is and provide enough communicative practice while working with the whole class. That is why oral practice in small groups and pairs is essential. Working in pairs and groups, children are more engaged not only intellectually but emotionally as well. They have to think, contribute to the group, evaluate what other members of the group say, share information, ask friends for clarification, and prepare a presentation together. "Pair work gives learners exposure to a range of language items and language functions" (Aneta, 2008:1). Brumfit says that pair work and group work are the most effective techniques of classroom organization which combine aspects of communication learning and natural interaction in a stress free environment (Aneta, 2008:2). Some teachers

are reluctant to introduce pair work and group work being afraid of noise or discipline problems which might occur particularly with children. Indeed students make noise while working on the task; they discuss things, check words, and communicate with one another. However, this is so- called "positive noise" and it

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does not disturb the students. They are concentrated on the task and they do not hear it. If an activity goes on for too long students, especially the poor ones make noise because they become bored, they want to get the teacher's attention and they may become disruptive. Such noise may become disruptive for the whole activity and class behavior because misbehavior is contagious. To avoid a danger of this happening the teacher should plan his/her activity very carefully. Assuming that the learners are familiar with the code of conduct discussed at the beginning of the school year the teacher should give them clear instructions about what to do, when to start and when to stop. The task should be clearly defined and not go for too long. At first students may be confused but once a routine has been set up they should know what is expected from them. This should prevent excessive noise and prevent the class from getting out of control (Aneta, 2008:2). Another disadvantage of pair work and group work is the use of the mother tongue. When students get excited working in pairs or groups they sometimes use their mother tongue to express something they are not able to express in a foreign language. Such a situation is normal because they want to communicate. It is teacher's responsibility to plan activities at the level of the students and to encourage them to use the little of the language they know as best as they can because speaking their own language during an oral activity is a waste of time. However, we should not be bothered too much if students use their mother tongue while doing a reading comprehension task or vocabulary exercises because the outcome of their discussion will be presented in English. It may also be necessary to ask students to translate instructions into mother tongue to check if they understand what we want them to do

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because giving instructions of a complicated activity may be a waste of time. To avoid the use of mother tongue during the lesson the teacher can discuss this problem with the students who should understand that during oral activities the use of the mother tongue is a real problem. During the activity the teacher should encourage the students to use English by going round the classroom helping and prompting students who do not know how to express some ideas (Aneta, 2008:2). Haines (1995:57) claims that "being forced to speak a second language to someone who shares your first language is artificial". However, if the teacher sets certain standards, addresses the pupils in English only and insists on them using the language it may become quite natural. When learners work in pairs or groups it is impossible for the teacher to listen and correct all the mistakes they make and this is not the purpose of the activity. However, s/he can reduce the number of mistakes before the students start working by demonstrating the activity to the class first and by asking pairs or groups to perform in front of the class afterwards and discussing what they said and pointing out the most common mistakes (Doff, 1988 in Aneta, 2008:1). Another way of reducing mistakes is to appoint a very good student to correct the mistakes of his friends. Such a student is responsible for checking the correctness of others' utterances when the teacher helps another group. It may be a problem to put students into groups. There is the danger that if the teacher divided the class into mixed ability groups the best students in the group will have to do the task while the weakest ones switch off and become disruptive. To overcome this problem the teacher may put students into groups according to their abilities and each group is

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given a task right for their level of difficulty. Then the teacher may monitor the whole class; devote more time to the students who need his/her assistance or even work with individual students (Aneta, 2008:3) After having taken into consideration all the pros and cons of pair work technique, it is advisable to use it during English language lessons especially in speaking class.

2.2.4 Teaching Hints during Pair Work Activity 1. Classroom organization Since the activities in Pair Work, the researcher involved the students working in pairs, a certain amount of classroom reorganization may be necessary. If it is at all possible, the room should be arranged in such a way that pairs face one another across a desk or a table. This is to give them eye-contact which made communication a lot easier. Again, if possible, some sort of screen (e.g. a bag) should be placed between them so that they cannot see one another's books. However, there may be practical reasons why such a classroom arrangement may not be possible. In which case, the teacher could adapt the working methods accordingly to suit his or her particular circumstances (Watcyn, 1997: 5). 2. Working in pairs Since the students will be working in pairs, there is the inevitable problem of what happens when there are an odd number of students in the class. Here are one or two possible solutions (although they are by no means the only ones): a. The teacher forms the 'extra' partner, in which case he or she should choose a different student to work with each time.

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b. The 'odd' student monitors another pair. The student chosen to monitor another pair should be changed each time an activity is done. c. Three students work together instead of two. Two of the students form a team to partner the third one, taking it in turns to talk to him or her. Again, the group of three should be changed frequently. One final consideration regarding pair work is that partners should be changed frequently to ensure that everyone really gets an opportunity to work with and to get to know as many different members of the class as possible (Watcyn, 1997:5). 3. Introducing an activity Clear instructions are given for all the activities, so in most cases it should be sufficient for the teacher simply to ask the students to turn to a particular activity and to let them read through the instructions. While they do this, the teacher goes around the class checking that they have fully understood what they have to do before they begin. If, on the other hand, the class lacks confidence or is not used to communicative work, the teacher could, on the first few occasions when the book is used, demonstrate briefly with two students (A and B) while the class monitors them. Alternatively, the teacher could set up the situation with the whole class then, by prompting the students, get suggestions as to what A and B might say to each other. Whichever method is chosen, it is essential that the students know exactly what they have to do before they are allowed to begin (Watcyn, 1997:5).

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4. Working through activity It is probably better if all pairs start working at the same time rather than working one after the other. During the activity, the teacher moves from pair to pair, as a passive observer, noting problems or mistakes which can be taken up with the whole group afterwards. The length of the activities varies from approximately five to twenty minutes. It is up to the teacher and the class to decide whether to spend a whole lesson on the activities or else to make them a part of the normal lesson. (Perhaps a combination of these two is a good idea.) Finally, since not all groups will finish at exactly the same time, it may be necessary for the teacher to have a definite 'finishing time' in mind for some of the more open-ended activities (Watcyn, 1997:5). 5. Following up an activity The teacher should always spend a few minutes after an activity discussing it with the class. The discussion could include talking about what the students found difficult as well as finding out if anyone wanted to say something but didn't have the necessary language skills to express himself or herself. This is also the time when any mistakes can be pointed out and, if necessary, revision practice given. Finally, it is a good idea occasionally to ask one of the pairs to practise the activity again while the rest of the class listen and monitor their performance (Watcyn, 1997:6). 6. Activity 1 and Activity 2 Although these two activities practice asking and answering questions, the chief reason for putting them first in the book is that they are a useful way of

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breaking the ice when the class is a new one-although they are still useful even when the class has been together for some time (Watchyn, 1997:6).

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CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Research Design This research employed qualitative approach because the design of the is classroom action research. Classroom action is classified into qualitative research because classroom action research has some qualitative researchs characteristics. They are as explained below: 1. It is natural 2. Human as an instrument. 3. The collected data are in form of word or picture. 4. Process is considered more important than the result. 5. Its design is temporal (Sukayati, 2008: 4-8). On the other hand there are some experts say that classroom action research is the combination of qualitative and quantitative research because it has quantitative data and qualitative data. Furthermore, Kasihani (1999:45) defines classroom action research is a practical research which is done to rectify the weaknesses in teaching learning process in class through actions. The actions are done as the efforts to find solution toward the problems faced by teacher in his daily teaching process. There are many kinds of classroom action research like individual teacher as researcher classroom action research, collaborative classroom action research and etc. But in this research, the researcher used collaborative classroom action research. Collaborative classroom action research is Collaborative Classroom Action Research is kind of a Classroom Action Research that involves some people like the principal,

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teacher, lectures, or etc simultaneously. It aims at improving 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 relation between researcher and collaborator teacher are considered as coworkers (Asrori, 2008:105).

3.2 Setting and Subject of the Research The research was conducted at MTsN Dewantara. The subject of the research was the third year students of MTsN Dewantara. There are five classes of the third grade students. The Subject of this research was class IX/B which consisted of 25 students. The researcher chose the class as the subject of the research because the students in the class were poor in speaking skill. They were less motivated and reluctant to get involved actively in the English teaching and learning process. Many techniques and approaches have been employed by the teachers in the class in teaching them English, nevertheless it was still less to give interest to the students in learning English.

3.3 Research Procedure Classroom 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 (Subyantoro, 2009:27). The activities done in each step of cycles were based on Kemmis and Taggert guidance. The activities are described in the following figure:

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The students find difficulties in learning speaking. How can information gap improve the students speaking ability?
Preliminary Study Interviewing the English teachers, observing the class, administering speaking test, and identifying problems. Facts and findings The teachers had not found effective techniques to teach speaking.. The students ability in speaking skill is very low The students are not motivated in learning speaking. Planning the Action Preparing suitable strategy Designing lesson program Developing research instruments. Setting up the criteria of success of the study. .

Observing the Action

Observing and collecting the data about the effect of the implementation of the action using observation checklist and field note.

Implementing the Action

Implementing the proposed teaching technique to teach speaking.

Analysis and Reflection The researcher and the collaborator analyze the result of the observation. If the result has met the criteria of success, the action will be stopped. If not the action will be continued to the next cycle.

Unsuccessful

Successful

Revise Plan

Report

Conclusion

Figure 3.1 Classroom Action Research Procedures

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Regarding to the procedures of Classroom Action Research above, this research is done through cycles which consist of planning action, implementing action, observing action and reflecting action. 3.3.1 Planning In this step, the researcher and the collaborator prepared a suitable strategy in teaching speaking through pair work teaching technique. This step also included preparing a suitable teaching strategy, designing lesson plan, preparing pre-test and post-test, setting the criteria of success and schedule of action.

3.3.1.1 Preparing a Suitable Strategy Having done the preliminary study at MTsN Dewantara, the researcher chose pair work technique as the teaching technique to be implemented in teaching speaking to class IX/B students of MTsN Dewantara to solve the problems found at the class. The reason chose pair work technique because pair work technique gives the students far more chances to speak English in the classroom. Students participate in the lesson much more actively because they are involved in talking to their friends exchanging opinions, practicing new structures more than listening to their teacher talking. This is important in our Polish schools when English lessons usually take place three times a week, teachers have to practice, develop all the language skills and it happens that there is no time left for speaking. So if a teacher has ten minutes left during the lesson it is better to divide the class into groups and pairs and to give the learners opportunity to really use the language to communicate with each other.

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3.3.1.2 Designing Lesson Plan Before implementing the action, the researcher and his collaborator needed to design lesson plan as the guide for the teacher in conducting the teaching especially in teaching speaking through pair work. This was a very important part in this study in implementing the action. The lesson plan was developed based on the school Based Curriculum. The teaching procedure in the lesson plan was divided into three stages consisting of pre-activity, main activity, and post-activity. In the pre-activity, the students are brainstormed to prepare their schemata and to dig their prior knowledge about the topic they are dealing with. Meanwhile in the main activity, the students deal with some tasks leading to reach the objectives of the lesson plan. Especially in speaking skill, the researcher and his collaborator designed interesting pair work activity that were considered to be able to make the students speak in the form of group activities. Finally, the last fifteen minutes were planned for the post-activity. The post-activity was conducted by giving certain tasks for the students to see the students mastery of the lesson.

3.3.1.3 Developing Research Instruments Instruments are the tools in collecting data. So, in this sub part of cycle, the researcher developed some instruments that are used in this research. The instruments that are used in this research are as follows: 1. Observation checklists Observation checklist is a list of things that an observer is going to look at when observing a class. This list may have been prepared by the observer or the

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teacher or both (Sukayati, 2008:29). Observation checklists give an observer a structure and framework for an observation to get specific information on aspects of the class. In this research observation checklist is used to obtain data about how the practitioner implement the action and gather data about the students activity during the teaching learning process. Observation checklist will be distributed to the teacher and the students. 2. Questionnaires Questionnaire is list of a research or survey questions asked to respondents, and designed to extract specific information (Sukayati, 2008:30). In this research, questionnaires are administered to the students to complete the information that cannot be attained from observation checklist. 3. Test Test is sequence or list of questions to measure, skill, ability, intelligence, owned by individual or group (Anwar, 2009:30). In this research, the researcher used speaking test to measure the students speaking ability. The test is done to measure the development of the students speaking ability after implementing the action. 4. Field Note Field note is used as a means of recording facts where the information can not be found in the observation checklist.

3.3.1.4 Designing the Criteria of Success The criteria of success of the research are as follows:

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1. The teacher has a good performance in implementing pair work technique in teaching speaking the third year students of class IX/B MTsN Dewantara and carries out the teaching procedures as previously planned. 2. The students are enthusiastic and actively involved during the learning and teaching process. The indicator is that 65 % of the students do commenting, responding and questioning. 3. 75 % of the students get 70 in the speaking assessment test. In assessing the students speaking test, the researcher used the following speaking rubric adapted from (Heaton, 1989:100). The speaking rubric can be seen in the table below:

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Table 3.1 Speaking Rubric Score. Level Accuracy Pronunciation is only very slightly influenced by the mother-tongue. Two or three minor grammatical and lexical errors Fluency Speaks without too great an effort with fairly wide range of expression. Searchers for words occasionally but only one or two unnatural pa uses. Comprehensibility Easy for the listener to understand the speakers intention and general meaning. Very few interruption or clarifications required. The speakers intension and general meaning are fairly clear. A few interruptions by the listener for the sake of clarification are necessary.

Pronunciation is slightly Has to make an effort at times to influenced by the mother- search for words. Nevertheless, tongue. A few minor smooth delivery on the whole and only a few unnatural pauses. grammatical and lexical errors but most utterances are correct Pronunciation is still moderately influenced by the mother-tongue but no seriously phonological errors. A few grammatical lexical errors but only one or two major errors causing confusion. Pronunciation is influenced by the mother-tongue but only a few phonological errors. Several grammatical and lexical errors, some of which cause confusion. Although he has to make an effort and search for words, there are no many unnatural pauses. Fairly smooth delivery mostly, occasionally, fragmentary but succeeds in conveying the general meaning fair range of expression. Has to make an effort for much of the time. Often has to search for the desired meaning, rather halting delivery and fragmentary range of expression often limited.

Most of what the speaker says is easy to follow. His intentions are necessary to help him to convey the message or to seek clarification n.

The listener can understand a lot of what is said. But he must constantly seek clarification. Cannot understand many of the speakers more complex or longer sentences.

Also the researcher explained the interpretation of the levels in the table of the rubric speaking above. It is shown in the following simple table:

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Table 3.2 the Criteria of Speaking Mastery Scale Level 4 3 2 1 Score 90 - 100 80 - 89 70 - 79 < 60 Interpretation Excellent Very Good Good Fair

3.3.2 Implementing Implementing is applying teaching technique that is proposed in this research. The proposed teaching technique in this research is pair work technique. In this research, the one who implemented the action is the teacher who teaches English in the class.

3.3.2.1 Modeling Session Before doing the real implementation in the class, the teacher was firstly trained so that she could perform well in implementing the real action in every meeting of speaking teaching and learning process through pair work technique. In this research, there were 3 meeting done in each cycle and the last meeting was used to do the assessment test.

3.3.3 Observing Actually observing and implementing were done at the same time. Here the researcher acted as the observer and the selected teacher acted as practitioner who

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carried out the lesson plan. The observation is based on and referring to the criteria of success.

3.3.3.1 Data and Source of Data In conducting this research, the researcher used qualitative and quantitative data. The qualitative data were taken from the students participation in speaking activities, comments, opinions, behaviors and suggestions which obtained from interview, observation and field note during the teaching and learning process in each cycle. Meanwhile, the quantitative data are taken from the speaking assessment test to measure the improvement of the students ability on speaking skill.

3.3.3.2 Instruments and Techniques for Data Collection To collect the required data, the researcher used observation sheet, field note, questioner and interview guide form as the instruments. The observation sheet was directed to see the reaction showed by the students toward the technique applied when the process of teaching and learning speaking was in session. Meanwhile, some important data which related to and support the study but could not be covered in the observation sheet were noted in the field note. The next instrument is interview guide form. Through questioner, the researcher noted the students comments, opinions and suggestions concerning the activities they in implementing the action. These data are meaningful in analyzing the success of the activities and in revising the activities for the next cycle.

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3.3.4 Reflection This part of cycle, the researcher dealt with analyzing the implementation of the actions through the collected data. It included the discussion of how far the developed technique solved the problem and the factors that might be the causes of the unsuccessful technique applied. In this research, the researcher reflected the things that have been done in the activities of learning and the impact of the activities as well toward the improvement of the students ability in speaking. The data were compared with the criteria of success to see whether the data have met the criteria. The result of this reflection was, then, used as the basic consideration to revise the model to be applied in the next cycle to get a better result of learning.

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IMPROVING STUDENTS SPEAKING ABILITY THOUGH PAIR WORK TECHNIQUE (A Collaborative Action Research to the Third Year Students of MTsN Dewantara)

Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Teacher Training and Education of Almuslim University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Pendidikan

By

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ISKA HERIZAL NIM: 040202062

THE FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF ALMUSLIM MATANGGLUMPANG DUA, BIREUEN (2009)

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Pretest

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Posttest

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