1.

0 INTRODUCTION

Writing is an important skill in language learning. Students are expected to be

competent and to develop writing skill in both formal and informal situation. It

needs to be supported by English components; vocabulary, and grammar .The

students are expected to be able in writing, it means they are able to share ideas

and opinions to readers through writing. The skill is required to fulfill some

present needs and as we live in the present and in the future, it is essential to

make writing attractive and meaningful.

There are basically four stages in learning to write; writing readiness, early

writing, developmental writing and mature writing. As the school teacher is

primarily concern with early writing and developmental writing. These two things

need to be given more emphasis than the life long process of mature writing

(Chitravelu, N., Sithamparam, S,.& Choon, T.S., (2004).

Much time at the early stages writing programmes will be utilized for pre-

communicative activities through which pupils learn the mechanics and

conventions necessary for effective communicative writing including handwriting,

spelling, punctuation and paragraphing.

Correct spelling is as important as legible handwriting in learning the writing

skill. Learning to spell helps to cement the connection between the letters and

their sounds, and learning high-frequency "sight words" to mastery level

improves both reading and writing. Joshi, Treiman, Carreker and Moats (2008)

describe this connection: "The correlation between spelling and reading

comprehension is high because both depend on a common denominator:

proficiency with language. The more deeply and thoroughly a student knows a

word, the more likely he or she is to recognize it, spell it, define it, and use it

appropriately in speech and writing." They also note that "the major goal of the

English writing system is not merely to ensure accurate pronunciation of the

written word it is to convey meaning

From my experience and observation, poor spelling ability has become one of

the biggest problems in mastering the writing skill among my pupils. I have been

teaching English for year 1 for more than 5 years in a Grade B school in the

middle of City X . It is not a big and fully equipped school. There are three main

buildings in with an extra building for ICT room. There are 20 classrooms for 656

students from year 1 to year 6. Physically, it is a beautiful school with green view

everywhere. It just looks like a mini garden whereas all the student and the

teachers are inspired with the green environment.

However, the pupils as well as the teachers are not happy with the lack of

facilities provided in the school. The biggest problem is the pupils and the

teachers have to share the washrooms since there is a problem with the building

maintenance. It really affects the pupils emotion and convenience. Some of them

sometimes become demotivate to learn due to such problem. I believe that this

kind of distraction will lead to ineffectiveness in learning .

Since I am teaching English for year 1 so I need to use the Primary English

Curriculum (KSSR) which was first implemented in 2011. According to the

curriculum standard document, the lesson should be carried out based on the

modular approach whereby teachers should teach all the four skills in separate

days, from day 1 to day 4 , starts with Listening and speaking, reading and

writing. To make learning fun and engaging, Language Arts is being emphasized

in the curriculum which is should be carried out on the fourth day. As for me, I

divide my lesson following the four modules over the first four days and

integrating the three main skills on the fifth day.

There are 32 pupils in my class and the pupils age rank from 6 to 7 . They come

from all walk of life background. Some of their parents are professionals ,

businessmen, labours, government servants as well as security forces. Most of

them have very high motivation towards the learning, it is because there is a big

concern from their parents. Their level of proficiency is just average even though

they were exposed to the use of English since their early age. Though, it does

not lessen their interest in learning the subject especially when it comes to fun

learning which is offered in the Language Arts lesson.

All this while, I always believe with teacher centered strategy whereby the

teacher controls and gives instructions. I thought that I should play the primary

role during the teaching and learning practice. I talked a lot rather than giving the

pupils the opportunity to voice out their opinion. But then I realized that I should

give opportunity to them to take part actively in learning and being engaged with
the activities. So I begin to use both teacher-centered and pupils centered

strategies. These teaching strategies helped me to control the class and at the

same time pupils are encouraged to learn and work in small groups so that they

will be able to communicate and interact with their friends in a proper manner.

During the daily learning and teaching process, I stress on the use of textbook . I

strongly believe that the textbook is very useful in helping me deliver the lesson. I

seldom use other printed materials or audio visual aids in my lesson. I guessed

that my pupils were happy doing their work using the activity book without

knowing and thinking that my pupils have different needs and ability.

For the first few months, most of my pupils had no problem in coping with the

lesson, but then in the month of April 2014, only then I realized that some of my

pupils had problem in their writing performance. 10 of them were not able to

pass their LINUS test. What made me sad, I found that they were not able to

spell even simple words with three phonemes like mat, man, netetc. For me it

was a big problem when the pupils were not able to perform well for a simple and

easy question.

I started to think and review my lesson. What was going wrong? Was it my

pupils who were not able to understand and follow the lesson? or was my

strategy unable to provide effective impact toward the learning? Therefore, I tried

to change my techniques and strategies of teaching. I tried to use materials like

flashcards, realia and other teaching activities that are being used for a long time

such as drilling and playing. Unfortunately, they did not bring much improvement.
I then, decided to change my strategies and techniques since I found that what I

strongly believed before do not work any longer with my students. I should

review the theory that I believe which is something to do with action which is

being stressed in the Total Physical Response. I decided to investigate on how I

am going to improve my pupils spelling ability because I realized that I failed to

develop their writing skills performance through my teaching techniques.

The intention of changing the way of teaching is to provide effective teaching and

bring about learning as stated by Hirst and Peters (1970) and Scheffer (1973) ,

the key criterion for the concept of teaching was that for someone to be teaching

should have the intention to bring about learning.

1.1 Context of the Research

Based on my previous experience of teaching English in Year 1 classes, I found

that at the early stages, most of my students had difficulties in writing correctly .

Although the skill is very much emphasized in the lesson, most pupils were not

able to write properly and correctly. I found that all this while, writing activities has

become the most favored things that pupils enjoy with. Unfortunately, in my class

context; writing had not been taken to consideration seriously by the pupils.

Writing is one of the important skills that pupils need to acquire to enable them to

master the English language. Writing activities are important means for

consolidating language learned in other skill areas. However, most of pupils find

writing difficult. It is the skill that most pupils are least proficient in. As a result,

they are not able to get excellent grade in English Language study. Due to the

global needs as well as the social needs, the excellent performance and grade

in English proficiency is very crucial . They have to equip themselves with not

only the good skills of speaking but also able to use good English for written

communication. A study carried out by Ton & Pham (2010), identified that the

English language is generally used as an international language for

communication among people from different language backgrounds in all parts of

the world.

It is also stated by Lewis,2002, p.40 The importance of English Language is

generally acknowledge and communicative language teaching (LLT) as an

approach aims to prepare learners to use the new language in speech and in

writing for a variety of purpose and in a range of contexts

Even though we meet all kinds of writing in our lives, yet no one is able to write

though every normal person is able to speak his mother tongue from the first few

years of his life. We acquire the ability to speak at home without systematic

tools but in writing we need to be taught how to write first. It is usually learn from

the teacher in school. Teachers be familiar with the purpose of writing and know

the various stages in the development of writing skills.

The ability to master writing skill is much important as according to the KSSR

syllabus, the learning standard for writing begin with pre-writing skills, which

addresses penmanship, the formation of letters, words as well as numbers in

clear print. Specific learning standards are attributed to penmanship so that even

from a young age, pupils are taught good writing habits. Special attention should

be given in order to strengthen the muscles of the hand, develop visual skills,

enhance gross and fine motor skills as well as develop hand-eye coordination to

help pupils acquire penmanship. Correct formation of letters of alphabet is

important in order to help pupils to write neatly and later write words, phrases

and sentences legibly. By the end of Year 2, pupils will be able to master the

mechanics of writing and then learn to write at words, phrase and sentence

levels. specific writing activities devised during lessons will enable pupils to begin

writing for a purpose as stipulated in the learning standards.

Based on my observation, most of the pupils could speak English very well since

the language is quite commonly used and familiar to them. They were exposed to

the use of English language in their daily life since their parents have very good
background in education. The only problem was, when it comes to writing, they

could not even spell the simple words correctly. I assumed that the importance

of writing was not seriously stressed on them.

1.2 Reflections of Past Teaching and Learning Experience

I have been teaching a year 1 class in a primary school in Kota Kinabalu District.

There are 32 pupils in the class aged rank from 6 to 7 years old. There are 18

girls and 14 boys. Their level of proficiency is average.

During my daily lesson, I managed to build good relationship with the pupils as

well as to rise up their interest toward the learning. As a result, most of the time,

pupils were engaged with the lesson activities actively.

I tried to vary my strategies and techniques of teaching. I am really keen on

learning through playing . According to Vgotsky (1967): Play is helpful in the

development of language and thought , I can say that, sometimes the strategies

work smoothly and some other times things turn the other way round . I could

understand that there were times that I could not achieve the objectives of

teaching and learning. There were reasons on why all these things happened.

From my observation, it was not difficult for them to understand my instructions

and followed the lessons activities. Most of them were quite good in listening and
speaking as well as reading. But I was not happy with a little group of the pupils

whereas 10 of them were not able to perform well during the previous LINUS

test. I was surprised that they could not even answer the simple questions on

pages 3 and 4 whereby they needed to arrange the letters to form the correct

words or fill in the blank with the missing letters.

I started to think of the problem and reviewed my lesson. What is wrong with my

lesson..?? What is the problem with my pupils..? I questioned myself.

Later, I went back to my class and revised the questions with the pupils. My focus

was on the problematic group. I called them to the front and told them to write

their answer on the board independently. They could not complete their answer

correctly. When I asked them to name the pictures, they managed to name

correctly but when I told them to write the words, they could not. Then, I realized

that the pupils had problem with the spelling. They could not remember the

spelling of even simple words like cat, mat, nap etc.

I tried to change my strategies of teaching. I made them learn with the advance

learners with the intention that they learned from the advance. I gave them more

drilling and asked their friends to drill on them. They were happy at the first few

minutes but when the drilling took more times, they began to feel bored. They

even fell asleep. Later, I gave them some written exercises in which they had to

fill in the blanks with the correct letters. The result was not good enough because

there were only two of the 10 pupils able to write the correct answer. The other
eight pupils were still not able to spell correctly. So, I assumed that drilling could

not do much help to them.

Due to the failure, I tried to change the activities. This time, I let them worked in

pair and gave more practice. I used letter card to teach them spelling. I began

with giving them some letter cards and they had to jumble up the card to form a

correct word. It was a little bit difficult at the first stage but after a few practice,

they managed to form correct words. Then, I gave them more exercises using

the letter cards. This time, they had to come to the front and complete certain

words with the correct letter. They had to pick up the letters from a box and paste

them on the board. I realized that they really loved the activities.

Next , I gave them some written exercises. I used the same type of questions

which they had in the previous LINUS test. I was happy because 4 of them

managed to complete their work successfully. However, I thought that I still need

to do something in order to make all of them improved and pass the LINUS test .

1.3 Research Focus

My research will be focusing on how to improve pupils spelling in English. This

research should be carried out as stated by Allwright, R. L.(1990) The role of

teachers is to help learners to learn. Teachers have to follow the curriculum and

provide , make, or choose materials and also monitor the progress and needs of

the students and finally evaluate students.

Besides that, my research is also in line with the KSSR syllabus whereby it is

stated that by the end of the 6 year primary schooling, pupils will be able to

write using appropriate language , form and style for a range of purposes. (Modul

Teras Asas: Bahasa Inggeris SK . 2011). My research will help pupils to improve

their ability to write well in English as pupils are guided on how to improve their

spelling as well as making simple sentences.

I realized that pupils weaknesses in spelling is due to my failure in making the

lesson interesting and motivating. I could see that the pupils were very

enthusiastic in learning the language; the problem was on my teaching strategies

that did not match their need and hope.

1.4 Issue of Concern

The researcher realized that the students had a problem in spelling

simple words. They could not remember the spelling of very simple words like

ant, cap, mat , etc.. Based on the researcher observation, the students had no

motivation on learning the spelling.

When the researcher started showing some picture cards, they seemed a little bit

attracted to the lesson but it was not enough to attract their fully attention. They

only wanted to look at the pictures but could not relate the pictures with the topic

and apply the skill taught.

It was observed that the failure in spelling the correct words resulted from their

lack of motivation in learning the spelling. Since they were not able to write

correct words so they could not write sentences.

1.5 Research Objectives

My research objectives range from general to specific. It is to improve pupils

spelling using comic strips. Generally, the objectives of my action research

will be to improve pupils writing skill.

Whilst for the specific research are as follows:

1. to use comic characters to improve pupils spelling

2. to use comic characters to write simple sentences so that they will be

able to write simple sentences with 3 5 words.

I hope that after using the comic strips, the pupils will be motivated to improve

their spelling ability . I do not expect them to be able to spell difficult words but at

least words that formed by 3 to 4 letters.

1.6 Research Questions

The research questions that I have come up with are as follows:

1) How can the use of comic characters help improve pupils spelling.

2) How can the use of comic characters help pupils to write simple

sentences.

1.7 Limitations of the Research

In this action research, there were few limitations that were believed to be the

restrictions throughout the implementation of this action research.

1.7.1 Time Constrain

The lack of time to do a particular task is believed to be one of the factors that

could be the main limitation during the implementation of this method of study.

Time constrain during the research had limited the limitation on the data

collection and slightly affected the data reliability.

1.7.2 Lack of Preparation

Since the researcher is novice researcher so there were many obstacles that

need to go through. There was not enough preparation made in order to conduct

the research. The researcher believes that the more and well organize

preparation made, the more valid data and results will be produced.

METHODOLOGY

This section details the actions and procedures of data collection undertaken to

complete the study. This study was conducted based on a model of action

research.

2.1 Research Approach

In this research, the researcher used spiral model of action research that

proposed by Kemmis & Mc Taggart. This design shows the cycles of action

research in which every cycle has four parts; plan, action, observation and

reflection. These parts are then repeated with the result of planning and action

(Farizan, 2009)
 Figure 2.1 : Kemmis & Mc Taggarts model of Action Research (1988)

In this research, two cycles were carried out based on the adaptation from

kemmis & Mc Taggarts Model (1988) . Cycle 1 was conducted for three days

and Cycle 2 was also conducted for three days. In every session, sixty minutes

was allocated for the implementation of every session in the research. The

reason why there were only two cycles, was due to time constrain.

2.2 Target Group

Thirty-two Year 2 students ( 14 males and 18 females ) were involved in this

action research. These students who came from different background were

selected based on a LINUS test which indicated that they had difficulty in

spelling and constructing simple sentences.

2.3 Research Instruments

The research used six types of instruments which were to obtain the data consist

of Diagnostic Test, pupils worksheet 1, pupils worksheet 2, , observation

checklist and reflective journals.

2.3.1 Diagnostic Test.

The test was done in order to identify their ability in spelling. The test consisted

of 12 constructs. The test required students to identify small and capital letters.

Then, the students need to spell simple words based on pictures. Later, they

were instructed to fill in the blanks with the correct letters according to the form of

words. It was to find out their ability to spell words . They also needed to write

sentences by matching sentences parts. It was to find out their ability to construct

sentences.

2.3.2 Worksheet 1 and 2

Worksheet 1
 This worksheet consists of 4 questions. The worksheet was done during

the production activity. The worksheet was prepared for the 8 students who were

not able to spell words correctly in their LINUS test. It was to find out how did the

use of comic characters help the weak students in their spelling. It was also to

see the effectiveness of using the comic characters in rising up the pupils

motivation towards the learning. The worksheets required students to fill in the

blanks with correct letters based on the pictures of comic characters. There were

four comic characters chosen in the activity.

Worksheet 2

This test consists of 4 sentences parts. This worksheet was prepared for

the other students who were able to spell correctly. The worksheet was

provided in order to cater the need of other students that were not being the real

focus. It was the initiative of the researcher to avoid students from being

neglected. The worksheet needed the students to match the sentences parts

to the correct adjectives that represent the four comic characters. It was to show

their ability to form correct simple sentences.

2.3.3 Observation Checklist

Observational research instrument solely involve the researcher or an

observer making observation ( Huah , 2012 ). An observation note and checklist

was given to a critical friend where she had to record any important events
happened during the sessions. The notes taken were based on the given

themes provided by the researcher.

The evidence was to support claims that were made throughout

the action research. Carefully recorded notes will help the researcher to

remember what was being observed when it will later approach the task of

interpreting and making judgment and when you talk with the teacher (John,

1993 ). In this action research, a critical friend was the observer. A checklist was

also used to analyze the events based on the themes that were focused on.

2.3.4 Reflective Journal

A reflective journal is a mean of recording ideas, personal thought and

experiences as well as reflections and insights a researcher have in the learning

process ( Chan C, 2009 ). For every journal, the researcher was the one who is

responsible in reflecting and the writing of it. In writing every reflective journal, it

requires the researcher to think more deeply, to challenge their old ideas with

new coming information, to synthesize the course materials they have learnt into

their personal thoughts and philosophy, and also to integrate it into their daily

experiences and future actions.

The benefits of the reflective learning process are usually accumulated over a

period of time, in which the students usually show a series of developmental

changes, personal growth and changes in perspective during the process. As for
this action research, after every session, the researcher sat down and recalled

the events which were important. The written journal was to analyze on some

issues that rose during every session. The issues then categorized based on the

themes.

2.4 Data Analysis Method

This section presents how all the collected data were analyzed.

2.4.1 Diagnostic Test

The students answers were calculated into percentages and tabulated.

2.4.2 Worksheet 1

All answers given by students were calculated into percentages. Then the

result were tabulated.

2.4.3 Pupils Work 2

The students answers were calculated into percentages and

tabulated.

2.4.4 Observation
 The researcher identified important issues raised from the structured

observation done by a critical friend . The issues raised were analyzed by

using checklist.

2.4.5 Reflective Journal

In every reflective journal, the researcher wrote some important events in

which she believed to be important for the collection of data. The important

notes were highlighted and coded based on different issues.

2.5 Intervention

In this research, cartoon characters were used to help students in their

spelling. It also helped the students to form simple sentences. This action

research had undergone 2 cycles whereas each cycle was completed for three

days.

2.5.1 Cycle 1
 Evaluation
Introducin ( Group work,
g
'Comic
Worksheets)
Pre Test Characters
'
to the
responden
ts

Figure 2.3 : The movement of Cycle 1

2.5.1.1 Plan

In the planning stage, every students were asked to sit for a diagnostic test given

by the researcher. The diagnostic test were used to measure the students ability

in spelling. By having the test, problem students were identified.

After the test was completed, the researcher collected the test paper . All answer

were then checked by the researcher and marks given according to the number

of correct answer.
Later on, the researcher went through the diagnostic test answers. It was to

identify the students weaknesses.

2.5.1.2 Act

At this stage, the researcher used comic characters to attract the students

attention towards the learning. Comic characters is an aid whereas it was used

to motivate the students interest. The Comic characters had two basic items

which were in the form of picture cards (Figure 2.5) and word cards (Figure 2.6 ).

I used four comic characters which were adapted from animation stories known

as Mr Bean, Spiderman, Popeye and Elsa Frozen. The pictures and word cards

were laminated to produce a more durable aid.

Figure 2.5 : Comic Characters Pictures

Figure 2.6 : Word Cards

Then, for each character the researcher provided four adjectives words that

represented the characters. The words were also provided in a form of word card

and were also laminated.

Worksheets were provided for the students to look at their performance. During

the activity, students were given two different kinds of questions according to

their level of ability. Spelling activity ( Figure 2.7) was given to the 8 students
who were the main focus, while the rest 22 of the students were given 2

worksheets that consisted of spelling and sentence parts matching ( Figure 2.8 ).

Figure 2.7 : Spelling Activity

Figure 2.8 : Sentence parts Matching

2.5.1.3 Steps of Implementation

The steps of implementation of the action research are shown in the table

below :

Cycle session Actions

1 i. Researcher showed four pictures of comic

characters to the respondents.

ii. Respondents were asked to name the characters;

- Popeye, Spiderman, Elsa (Frozen) and Mr Bean.

2.5.1.3 Observe

Throughout the implementation of this action research, observations were

done. The observations were focusing on few important aspects which help in

the data collection of this study. There were few aspects that were observed such
as pupils response, pronunciation, behaviour towards the learning of spelling.

Besides that, the students level of motivation was also included in this

observation.

2.5.1.4 Reflect

The result derived throughout this cycle was evaluated. A reflection

session was done whereas the researcher looked at the strength and

weaknesses of the application of the teaching aids used in the session. After

reflecting on the sessions with the subjects, the researcher thought and looked

forward on the improvisation that can be done in the next cycle.

2.5.2 Cycle 2
 Evaluati
on
Implementati
on of Comic
Characters
Plan
Revised

Figure 2. 4 : The movements of cycle 2

2.5.2.1 Revised Plan

In this stage, there were few changes that were made. This stage was

used to improvise the activities in the next cycle. In the next cycle, the researcher

changed the teaching mode, from big group learning to pair work, changed the

materials in terms of size, colour and number of pictures and also the type and

content of worksheets.
2.5.2.1 Act

At this stage, the researcher spent four days to implement the action research.

The researcher had to give more attention on the weaker respondents. During

that period, the researcher looked back at the weaknesses found in Cycle 1. The

researcher guided every student with the low ability group.

The researcher provided letter cards , picture cards and also word cards in order

to get them involved actively in the lesson.

2.5.1.3.1 Steps of Implementation

Cycle Session Action

2.5.2.2 Observe

Again, in this stage, observation was conducted throughout the implementation

of Cycle 2. This time, observations were made to verify the data that had been

collected through the sessions done with the respondents. Observations were

also made to see whether improvements were seen in implementing the method.

2.5.2.3 Reflect
At this stage, the researcher was focusing on the improvement gain by the

weaker respondents and the ability of writing simple sentences intermediate

respondents. The data collected will help in analyzing the responds made by the

subjects and this will conclude the overall result of this research.

FINDINGS
This section presents the data obtained through the research on using Comic

Characters in teaching spelling among Year 2 Students.

3.1 The Students Performance

The first question was measured by using the diagnostic test. The test was

conducted and given to the 32 respondents before the first cycle started. The pre

test was carried out to get the clear view and confirmation on the respondents

ability to spell simple words. Table

Number of Correct Answer Marks (%)

0 0
1 5
2 10
3 15
4 20
5 25
6 30
7 35
8 40
9 45
10 50

Based on table 3.1, Every correct answer was given 5 marks. Respondents who

scored from 0 to 25 were considered fail and scores between 26 to 50 were the

passing marks.

3.2 Students Performance Before Intervention

RESPONDENTS (X / 10 MARKS
R1 8 40
R2 7 35
R3 8 40
 R4 9 40
R5 8 40
R6 7 35
R7 6 30
R8 6 30
R9 8 40
R10 7 35
R11 7 35
R12 9 45
R13 9 45
R14 8 80
R15 7 35
R16 6 30
R17 6 30
R18 9 45
R19 9 45
R20 7 35
R21 6 30
R22 7 35
R23 4 20
R24 3 15
R25 3 15
R26 2 10
R27 2 10
R28 4 20
R29 4 20
R30 1 5
R31 1 5
R32 2 10
Table 3.2 : Number of correct answers and marks obtained

( x = the number of correct answer )

( R = respondent )

Based on Table 3.2, it shows that before the implementation of the intervention,

10 respondents were not able to pass the test. From the table shown, 10 of them

scored below than 50 % in the pre test done before the implementation of Cycle
1. There were few problems that had been identified which may lead to the

failure of the respondents to the failure of the respondents to score in the pre

test, which was the inability of spelling among the 10 respondents and the

inability of them to write correct words and the lack of motivation in students.

3.2.1 Unable to Spell Correctly

Figure 3.1 : Example of respondents answer

Figure 3.1 shows one of R23s answers for the Diagnostic Test. His answer

clearly shows his inability to spell the word correctly.

In a reflective journal written by the researcher, it was stated that the respondents

were not able to spell the words in the Diagnostic given.

I was not happy because there were 10 out of 32 students not able to spell and

write words correctly.

rj/asa/01/14

3..2.2 Unable to write words correctly

3.3 Students Performance After Intervention

REMARKS NO. OF PARTICIPANTS %

ABLE TO SPELL ALL FOUR WORDS 24 75

CORRECTLY
ABLE TO SPELL THREE WORDS 4 12.5
CORRECTLY
ABLE TO SPELL TWO WORDS 1 3.125
CORRECTLY
ABLE TO SPELL ONE WORD CORRECTLY 1 3.125

NOT ABLE TO SPELL ALL THE FOUR 2 6.25

WORDS CORRECTLY
Table 3.1 : The Pupils Achievement in Cycle 1

REMARKS NO. OF %
PARTICIPANTS
ABLE TO SPELL ALL FOUR 31 96.9
WORDS CORRECTLY
ABLE TO SPELL THREE WORDS nil 0
CORRECTLY
ABLE TO SPELL TWO WORDS 1 3.11
CORRECTLY
ABLE TO SPELL ONE WORD nil 0
CORRECTLY
NOT ABLE TO SPELL ALL THE nil 0
FOUR WORDS CORRECTLY
REMARKS NO. OF %
PARTICIPANTS
ABLE TO WRITE SIMPLE 26 81.25
SENTENCES
NOT ABLE TO WRITE SIMPLE 6 18.75
SENTENCES
Figure 3.1 : Sample of Students Worksheet

3.3.2 Develops Students Understanding in writing correct words

In the observation done, the researcher feels that the respondents think that the

method is fun because all of them were involved actively. Though not all of them

could remember the words seen, they were still eager to answer the questions

asked by the researcher and did the activities completely.

Using the pictures of comic characters made them attracted to the lesson. They

could easily remember the words and the spelling since there was connection

between the pictures and the words.

3.3.3 Increased students motivation in learning to spell

In the implementation of this action research, respondents

were given the opportunity to use the letter cards to form words related to the

comic characters. They were also guided to work in group during the words

matching activities. Respondents were given intrinsic motivation where praises

were given immediately after they had managed to complete their group and

individual task.

All respondents were so eager to try when they had the chance to form the words

related to the comic characters using the letter cards

 Rj/asa/10/15

Figure 3.2 : Pictures of Respondents During Spelling Activities

The above excerpt and pictures show that the respondents were

excited and eager to try to arrange the letter cards and getting themselves

involved.

3.3.4 Increased students motivation in learning to write simple sentences.

DISCUSSION

4.1 Introduction

This chapter intends to discuss the findings of the data based on the research

questions of the study. The data analysis that the researcher obtained from the

research instruments of the data collection has showed a significant results of the

study. Besides that, this chapter discusses the effectiveness of the comic

characters used by the researcher in the spelling lesson. Several justifications,

conclusion and implementation were made for further study.

4.1 Discussion of Findings

Overall, the use of Comic Characters gave a positive effect to the development in

students ability to spell and write correct words. It also helped in learning to write

simple sentences. Improvement and progress can be seen throughout the

implementation of this action research in Cycle 1 and Cycle 2. This section

discusses on the findings based on the 2 research questions.

1) How can the use of comic characters help improve pupils spelling.
2) How can the use of comic characters help pupils to write simple

sentences.

4.2 1 Research Questions 1

This action research was conducted to help students in spelling.

1) How can the use of comic characters help improve pupils spelling.

Language acquisition research has shown that the use of popular culture
materials in the classroom is strongly motivating for students (Morrison, et al.,
2002). Specifically, the use of comics in second language classrooms is greatly
beneficial to the students In fact, one of the strongest
benefits of using comics to teach is the ability of comics to motivate students
(Yang, 2003).

When the pupils looking at the comic characters, they were able to sustain their

attention and focus because comics become the biggest tool that can attract their

attention towards the language learning. It also help them to remember things

that they have learned. It is because they were familiar with the characters.

During the implementation of the intervention, the researcher found out that the

respondents showed a lot of interest when the comic characters was first

introduced. They started to get interested in the lesson and completed the task

given such as words matching, letters rejumbled, and things like that.

Based on the research, comic characters was a useful tool for the pupils as most

of the children like pictures. In other words, their learning styles are more to

visual spatial. Pupils were able to learn through the comic. Furthermore, pupils
had better understanding by looking at the pictures especially the meaning of the

words. The pictures used based on the comic characters showed the meaning of

adjectives introduced. For examples, funny, kind, pretty and strong. As a result,

they were able to spell correctly because of the relation between pictures and

words.

In the first cycle, the pupils with low ability had shown a positive improvement in

their spelling ability. While the for the intermediate pupils, they were able to spell

correctly all the words given during the evaluation parts. Their ability in spelling

leaded them to learn how to write simple sentences.

However, the experience based learning might not be so effective it was

because there were things that unable to attract and help the pupils. The content

of the lesson as well as the materials used are not always suitable to relate to the

pupils experiences and need. Therefore, in the second cycle, the implementation

of this intervention had been improvised cartoon char

4.3 Reflection on Action Research

As an experienced teacher, the researcher realized that the teaching methods do

affect students achievement in that language. Though sometime English

becomes a nightmare to weak students, teaching methods plays a very important

role in moving students towards excellent. When looking at the serious matter,

they idea of using comic was a brilliant one.

The most important thing, a teacher must master the knowledge in the field

taught thoroughly in order to facilitate the transmission of knowledge to students.

4.3 Suggestions and Recommendations for Further Research

The implementation of comic characters brought up the positive effect in

grabbing the attention o learners, motivates learners to learn, and help learners

to memorize the sentences structure. Overall, this research has achieved its

objectives. Nevertheless, there are some suggestions and recommendations that

could be applied for further research as shown below.

It is suggested that such research to be conducted in a longer time

period to see an extensive and comprehensive spelling skill

development.

It is suggested that comic characters intervention be further

developed to see its implications to other concerned language

development such as listening and speaking and also reading.

4.4 Conclusion

Increased level of participation was obvious as the pupils were so

engaged in the lessons. It was noted that their interests towards comic

characters motivated them.

 The intervention helped improve the pupils spelling skill and assisted

them in applying their spelling skill in simple sentences of 3-5 words.

The more deeply and thoroughly a student knows a word, the more likely

he or she is to recognize it, spell it, define it, and use it appropriately in

speech and writing (Joshi, Treiman, Carreker and Moats, 2008)

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