CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

This chapter consists of the background, problem of the research, objective

of the research, significance of the research, scope of the research, and operational

definition key terms.

A. Background

Learning English to junior high school has become important in recent

years in Indonesia. Nowadays, both parents and students think that English is

an important tool of communication. It exposes the issue that teaching a foreign

language to young learners is very necessary and advantageous. Therefore,

English teachers are demanded to have the ability to plan, organize and

evaluate English teaching and learning effectively. Unfortunately, it is a fact

that many teachers are teaching in junior high school and have not got some

training to develop their teaching competence.

In teaching English, there are four main aspects, speaking, reading,

writing, and listening. Speaking is one of the language skills that is very

important in the language competence to build good communication. Speaking

is key in communication. Language is the most important thing in all aspects

of life, through language the people can express their ideas, share to others, and

get information from others. The main purpose of speaking is to communicate.

Speaking is a important tool to communicate or a deliver mind things about

what the speaker will be said with their society (Tarigan 2008:30-36)

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 The role of Speaking in learning English is very important to make

good communication (Tarigan, 1990:89). Through Speaking, the students can

express their ideas, opinion, information, and feelings to each other more

clearly than in written language.

In general, there are many good approaches and techniques in junior

high school teaching and learning. Unfortunately, rather than conducting

effective teaching, teachers sometimes fail in optimizing students’ achievement

and seem to confront the task in providing a wide experience for students.

Mostly, the session is filled with material explanation and numerous tasks

without considering students’ condition and classroom situation.

Furthermore, according to Border & Note (2009), effective instruction

is an instruction that meets students’ needs and characteristics and

accommodates students’ learning style. In line with the above statement

Dryden & Vos (2009) stated that learning will be more effective through joyful

learning. An effective classroom Ice-Breaking can help teachers in creating a

positive and joyful classroom atmosphere. Many teachers put in too many

mechanical activities and they think it is the best way to spend the time in the

classroom. Few of them put the Ice-Breaking in the beginning or in the middle

of the lesson.

According to information of the English teacher of SMP Negeri 7

Mimika and the experience of the researcher when did Magang 3, researcher

found a phenomenon among the students at the seventh grade that, almost every

one of them are able to speak, but they found themselves difficult and can not

2
brave to express it. It is because they do not have knowledge about

pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, fluency and self-confidence.

The term Ice-Breaking may not be as popular as warm-up. Ice-

Breaking means “to break the ice”. “The ice” may refer to many conditions.

Commonly, Ice Breaking is used in a situation where people have not met yet

before, in an instruction, Ice-Breaking is used to help clear the way for

learning to occur by making the learners more comfortable by helping to bring

out a conversation. (Gunawan, 2006)

The Ice Breaking intends to refresh the situation, reduce tension and

reload the energy and enthusiasm of the members (Yusuf, 2009). Considering

the positive effects, some teachers apply it in their instruction. In an instruction,

an Ice breaking is used to improve students' motivation in communicating

because of the problems that commonly appear in a class such as bored, tired,

low enthusiasm, and unwillingness to study.

As Arum (2019) who used this ice breaking method for her research The

use of Ice Breaking to Improve Students’ Speaking Skills. The result of the her

research showed that the t-test was 2.277 and the value of t-table of db =48 was

2.01063. It means that the value of t-test was higher than t-table

(2.277>2.01063). So, the hypothesis was accepted.

It can be concluded that there was a significant difference in speaking skill

for the students who were taught by ice breaking technique and who were not

taught by ice breaking technique. Based on the explanation above, the

researcher concluded that ice breaking technique is effective for teaching

3
 speaking of the seventh grade students at MTsN 8 Magetan.

The second one is Uliatul (2014) in study entitled “The Effectiveness of

Using Ice Breaker in Teaching Speaking at Eighth Grade Students of SMPN

24 Purworejo in The Academic Year 2013/2014”. The result of the study

indicates that ice breaking is effective in teaching speaking. The computation

shows that the t-value is higher than t-table that is 3.164>2.009. It means that

there is effectiveness of using icebreakers in teaching speaking to eighth grade

students of SMPN 24 Purworejo.

According to Lichert (2006:64), there are some different types of Ice-

Breaking activities such as Questions and short answers. These types of Ice-

Breaking involve different questions that you ask everyone in the group. Some

questions might be funny, some might be more serious. The question and

answer format works well with groups who do not t know each other that well.

From the background of the study above, the researcher wants to know in

the teaching learning process especially teaching speaking skill. Therefore, the

researcher is interested in conducting research by the title “The Effectiveness

of Ice Breaking Technique to Improve Students Speaking Skill Of Recount

Text at Seventh Grade of SMP Negeri 7 Mimika”.

B. Problem of the Research

Based on the background above, the problem of the research is: How

is the effectiveness of Ice Breaking technique to improve students’ speaking

skill at seventh grade of SMP Negeri 7 Mimika?

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C. Objective of the Research

Based on the problem above, the objective of this research is to find

out the effectiveness of students’ speaking skill of recount text who are taught

by using ice breaking technique at seventh grade of SMP Negeri 7 Mimika.

D. Significances of the Research

The results of this research are expected to give useful information and

contributions for the educational environment, theoretically and practically.

1. Theoretically

The result of this research will give additional contribution in case

education and it may support or verify the previous research or theory

through ice breaking technique. It is also expected to be beneficial for

teacher’s information and reference for the readers.

2. Practically

a. For teachers, this study is expected to give teachers variations for

teaching and to help students easily study.

b. For students, the researcher hopes that it will enhance their speaking skill.

And it will make them become more active and more interested in the

English learning process.

E. Scope of the Research

The study focuses on investigating the effectiveness of Ice breaking

activity to improve students’ Speaking skill of recount text at Seventh Grade

Students of SMP Negeri 7 Mimika. In this study, the researcher focuses on four

main aspects, they are vocabularies, pronunciation, grammar, and fluency.

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F. Operational Definition of Term

1. Speaking is the action or expressing one's thoughts and feelings in spoken

language (Nunan, 1994:23).

2. Ice Breaking is an activity or game designed to welcome attendees and

warm up the conversation among participants in a meeting, training class,

team building session, or other activity (Soenarno, 2005: 54).

3. Recount Text is written to retell event with the purpose of either informing

or entertaining their audience or readers (Coogan, 2006: 26).

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 CHAPTER II

LITERATURE REVIEW

In this chapter, the research elaborates systematic analysis of references

related to the research. The theories discussed in this chapter are thoroughly related

to the title of the research. This chapter consists of related research findings, some

pertinent ideas, and theoretical framework of the research.

A. Related Research Findings

There are some previous research findings in effectiveness of using ice

breaking. The first is a research finding that is conducted by Hutasoit and

Tambunan (2018) entitled "The Effect of Ice Breaking Technique in Teaching

Speaking at The Tenth Grade Students of SMK Dharma Bhakti

Siborongborong in Academic Year 2018/2019". This study was to find out

whether Ice Breaking Technique significantly affects in teaching speaking.

The data were obtained from 56 students as samples; the researcher took the

sample from 224 students of tenth grade as the population. The students were

divided into two groups namely experimental group and control group. The

experimental group was taught by using Ice Breaking Technique while control

group was taught without Ice Breaking Technique. The instrument used in

collecting data were speaking test. The data were analyzed by using t-test

formula. Having calculated the data it was found that t –test was higher than t-

table (7, 70 >2.005) with the degree of freedom (df) 54 (28+28-2) with the t-

table is 2,005 and the calculate value was 5.38. Therefore, the null hyphotesis

(H0) was rejected and the alternative hypothesis (Ha) was accepted. It can be

7
concluded that Ice Breaking Technique significantly affect in teaching

speaking

The second study was previous research conducted by Sinta (2015)

entitled "Improving Students’ Ability In Speaking Skill By Using Ice Breaker

Strategy At Eighth Grade Students Of MTS. TPI Sawit Seberang in Academic

Year 2017-2018. This study applied classroom action research which

consisted of two cycles. The result showed that there was improvement in

students' speaking skill. It can be seen from the mean of Post-Test I was 70.5

and Post-Test II was 80.3. In other words, students’ speaking skills have

improved. The result of the study showed that the students gave good

responses and showed enthusiasm after the use of Ice Breaking strategy in

speaking skill.

The third previous research was conducted by Fuji (2021) entitled

"The Effectiveness of Ice breaking Technique to Improve Students’ Speaking

Skill at MTsN 8 Magetan". The result of the research showed that the t-test

was 2.277 and the value of t-table of db=48 was 2.01063. It means that the

value of t-test was higher than t-table (2.277>2.01063). So, the hypothesis

was accepted. It can be concluded that there was a significant difference in

speaking skill for the students who were taught by ice breaking technique and

who were not taught by ice breaking technique. Based on the explanation

above, the researcher concluded that ice breaking technique is effective for

teaching speaking of the seventh-grade students at MSN 8 Magetan. The

teacher should use an innovative and creative technique for teaching English.

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So, the students do not feel bored when teaching English. Teachers can

provide ice breaking techniques to teach their students. Therefore, the students

feel more relaxed and get them prepared for materials.

The previous study above discussed ice breaking technique, the result

of the study showed that ice breaking can improve the students speaking skill.

The previous research has similarities with this research; they involve ice

breaking techniques in teaching English. However, this present research still

has a difference. The first research used ice breaking technique to teach

speaking skill and the research design is experimental design. Meanwhile, the

second research has a similarity to this research in terms of using ice breaking

technique.

The second research used classroom action research. The data were

collected and analysed qualitative and quantitative. The third researcher used

ice breaking technique in teaching English. The researcher used quasi-

experiment design, and the data collections were documentation and test. The

difference between the previous research with this research is this research

using ice breaking technique to improve speaking skill in recount text. This

research will employ classroom action research, and the data collections will

use observation and test. And this research focus to improve student ability

in speaking English especially in the case of fluency and pronunciation.

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B. Some Pertinent Ideas

1. Concepts of Ice Breaking

a. Definition of Ice Breaking

Pitts (2010) found that icebreakers are an interactive activity that

can be used in first grade to relax adult students and create a fun

atmosphere in an often formal setting. In addition, many icebreakers allow

the adult students to get to know each other and allow the teacher to better

understand the background of the adult students.

Dixon et al. (2008) stated that an icebreaker is an ungraded activity

designed to allow the teacher to get to know the students and allow them

to get to know each other. It was clear that the icebreakers were carefully

designed to allow students to get to know each other, feel more relaxed,

and prepare for the material.

It is important that students feel comfortable, confident among

themselves, and focus on the English class and not other distractions.

Teachers should be creative, adventurous, thoughtful, communicative and

enjoy working with students (Thornbury, 2006). Icebreakers are not only

part of creative thinking, strategic thinking, positive thinking, problem

solving, and learning strategies in business organizations, but are suitable

for students of all ages.

This is because icebreakers in the classroom help develop soft

skills such as: Interpersonal skills, communication skills including

written, oral and non-verbal skills, and team building skills (Forbes, 2007).

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 Icebreakers also help create a bond between students and teachers.

Icebreakers in a new class or school can help newcomers blend in with

older students and make them feel comfortable and settled.

Paul (2003) found that most teachers struggle to find good

techniques to hold students' attention, help students put aside distractions,

and prepare them for individual and group engagement in follow-up

activities. For a teacher who is capable of cracking jokes with students, it

may be easier to get the student's attention, but for some others, the

opposite may be the case. It requires an activity that holds the student's

attention and focus on the learning process.

b. The purpose and function of the Ice-Breaking

Ice breakings are defined as a fun way to support the objective of

presentation (Svendsen, 1996). Almost certainly all human activities

require the presence of an ice breaking. There are several purposes for using

an ice breaking, as the following:

1) Remove the dividing barriers between students.

2) The creation of dynamic conditions among students.

3) Creating motivation between fellow students to carry out activities

during the teaching and learning process

4) Make participants know each other and will eliminate mental distance

so that the atmosphere becomes truly relaxed, fluid and flowing.

5) Directing or focusing participants on the topic of discussion.

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 Furthermore, the Ice- Breaking can also be used as an energizer.

Energizer are games that are used when participants appear cold or

discouraged, saturated and sleepy. This activity is used as a means of

reducing tension and injecting new energy. This decrease in enthusiasm can

also occur after a break or lunch. For this reason, the spirit of playing and

following training must be revived.

c. Different types of Ice-Breaking

According to Likert (2018), there are some different types of Ice

Breaking as follow:

1) Questions and short answers

These types of Ice breakings involve different questions that you

ask everyone in the group. Some questions might be funny, some might

be more serious. The question-and-answer format works well with

groups who do not know each other that well. Later in the year, you may

want to change up the questions to get to know each other on a deeper

level. It all depends on how personally involved the group wants to get.

2) Personal

This type of activity is normally used when the group has worked

together for some time. Typically, we use Personal Ice breakings when

we want a group to get to know each other’s preferences and experiences.

It helps bring the group closer and become more connected to each other.

This type of activity is usually aimed towards executive boards or small

groups.

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3) Small groups

Small group Icebreakers normally range from 2-10 individuals.

This Ice Breaking is aimed for small groups, executive boards, or small

staffs. These tend to include “get to know you” games, talking, drawing,

and others. These activities are meant to still be fun for the group but do

not need a large number of participants. When people think of Ice

breakings, they think huge, loud, active games. This is not always true.

An Ice breaking can be as simple as, “let’s all draw our favourite animal

and talk about why we chose it”.

4) Large groups

This Ice Breaking is meant for groups of 10 individuals. This type

of Ice breaking is meant to involve more people while still having fun.

You can make teams, or do things like guessing games in large groups.

A good “hack” for large groups is that you can always break them down.

If you have a small group activity, you can split up your large group into

smaller ones to do the smaller activity.

5) Active games

Active games are the types of Ice breakings where the group or

organization is moving around a lot. These Ice breaks tend to be used

more when the group is tired of sitting around or is about to sit for a

decent amount of time. Active Ice- Breakers are often used in before

meetings, or as a break.

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 d. How to use Ice-Breaking

In using Ice breaking, there are two aspects to focus about, including

the important items to consider and the strategy of using Ice breaking

(Selfie, 2016).

1) Important items to consider

Laura Tillery in her article stated that there are many important items

to consider when working with Ice breakings:

a. Teachers need to learn what Ice breakings work out best according to the

age group and number of people.

b. According to the Stress and Wellness Specialists (2000) a successful Ice

breaking needs step-by-step instructions and then needs to be

demonstrated (Instant Ice breakings). Ice breakings are most effective

when they are thought out, practiced, and have clear instructions (Beat,

1998).

c. Teachers need to read their class; if something is not working the teacher

can adjust or try a different approach to an Ice breaking.

d. Specialists stress that a teacher should make sure the room is silent before

Speaking so that they have full attention of their students. A teacher can

use a noisemaker like a drum or a whistle to get the student’s attention.

e. Strategies of using Ice-Breaking

In using Ice breaking we need a strategy. Groover (2005) stated the

strategies of using Ice breakings as follow:

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1) Objectives and Execution

Before teachers start any Ice breaking activities, they need to be

aware of two things: what they are going to achieve and how they are

going to achieve it.

2) Group Size

Teachers also need to choose activities based on the size of the

group. If the teachers have a large number of people, they can have them

interact with a series of leading questions, such as, “If you were a Star

Wars character, which one would you be, and why?”. By giving them

leading questions and having them talk to one another, the teacher forces

them to talk about things other than small talk, which will let them find

some common ground.

Small groups can have their Ice breaking with the teacher rather

than having them interact independently. The teachers can just follow the

questions stated previously. Alternatively, the teachers can play games

such as “two truths and a lie,” in which people each state two truths and

one lie about them and their new co-workers try to guess which is which.

3) Appropriateness

Teachers should choose an Ice breaking strategy based on how

appropriate it is for the students. The Ice breaks that will be used in the

classroom also be a consideration for the teacher to get the student’s

attention.

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 The teacher should make sure that the Ice breaking chosen is

actually connected to the intended purposes of the Ice breaking. This is

very important because not all kinds of Ice breakings work for the intended

end.

f. The kinds of Ice-Breaking

The kinds of ice breakings that will be applied by researcher in the

classroom, as follows:

1) Simon Says

Simon says it is a simple ice breaking that is often used by teachers

and younger students. This game involves following the leader when

you’re supposed to, and not following the leader when you’re not supposed

to. A person named Simon is the leader.

Elect one person the leader. In this game, he is known as “Simon.”

Have him go to the front of the room, and everyone else stands up and

faces this person. Simon will get in front of the room and call out

commands. If Simon begins the sentence by saying “Simon says…” then

everyone is required to do the action. If he does not begin with “Simon

says…” then the players are not allowed to do the action. For example, if

Simon calls out, “Simon says, touch your toes!” then all players must touch

their toes.

If a player doesn’t obey, they are out and are eliminated from the

game. If Simon instead calls out “Touch your toes!” (Without starting by

saying “Simon says.”) then players are NOT supposed to touch their toes.

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 If anyone touches their toes, they are also eliminated from the game.

2) Deserted Island Instructions:

a) Put students in pairs or groups

b) Tell the group that they will be trapped on an island for one year and cannot

leave

c) They can take 5 things with them

d) On the island: freshwater, monkeys, coconut trees and fish in the

surrounding waters

e) After that, they must tell the class the 5 things they decided to bring and

what the importance of each is.

3) Who am I Instructions:

a) Give the students the pieces of paper and tell them to write a famous

person’s name on it. A person that they think everyone will know. (Ex: the

president of their country or the president of America, a famous movie star

or singer, a historical figure like Sharukh Khan).

b) Collect the pieces of paper and look over them to make sure they have

people on them that everyone will know.

c) Have the students come up one by one and tape a piece of paper with a

famous person’s name on their back. Don’t let the students see who their

person is. Do this with all the students. Now, have the students mingle and

look at each other's names. The students then ask questions about

themselves. (Ex: am I alive or dead? Am I from this country? Am I a boy or

girl?) the students are not allowed to ask their name. They have to guess

17
 who they are.

d) Students keep asking questions and guessing. You can tailor it to suit your

class with rules. (You must ask three questions before guessing) You can

also do it in pairs or groups.

4) Twenty questions

Instructions:

a) Model it once for the students. Tell them you think of something in a

category. (Ex: “I’m thinking of a food.”)

b) Students can then ask you twenty questions to try to find out what food

you are thinking of.

c) Put the students into groups or pairs and have them think of a word in

category and their partner or group guesses.

5) Tall Story

Another activity by Grahame Knox allows you to create your first

classroom story by having all of your students participate in creating a tall

tale. Begin by having all of your students stand in a circle. Next, start the

story with a sentence such as “Yesterday, I went to the zoo and was passing

the elephant enclosure when SUDDENLY…” Then, have all of the students

add on to the story ending it with the word SUDDENLY. The story will

become more and more hilarious as students add on to the previous sentence.

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2. Concepts of Speaking

a. Definition of Speaking

Speaking is a way to bring a message from one person to others. In order

to interact with people, communication cannot run well without Speaking.

Brown in Malayaite (2004) defines Speaking as an interactive process of

constructing meaning that involves producing, receiving, and processing

information. In another view, Conflict (2011:18) states that Speaking is

combining sound in a recognized and systematic way. According to

language specific principles, it means that the act of speaking involves not

only producing, receiving, and processing information but also combination

of sound.

Widdowson, (1985: 57) stated that speaking means oral

communication in giving information which involves two elements, namely

the speaker is someone who gives the message and the listener is someone

who receives the message. In other words, communication involves the

productive skill of listening.

Furthermore, Byrne, (1976: 8) stated that speaking is a means of

oral communication in giving ideas or importation to others. It is the most

essential way in which the speaker can express himself through the

language. An act of communication through speaking is commonly

performed in face-to-face interaction and happens as part of dialogue or

rather form or verbal exchange. The act of speaking involves not only the

production of the sound but also the use of gesture, the movement of the

19
 muscles of the face, and indeed of the whole body. All of these non-vocal

speaking as a communication activity are transmitted through the visual

medium.

In relation to the explanation above, the researcher concludes that

speaking of oral communication in giving information to each other. It is the

most essential way in which the speaker can express himself through the

language.

b. Elements of Speaking

According to Harmer (1991:15), aspect of Speaking divided as

follows:

1) Pronunciation

Pronunciation is an act or result of producing the sound of speech

including articulation vowel formation, accent and inflection. Often

with reference to some standard of contents or acceptance of

proficiency. The concept of “pronunciation” may be said to include:

a) The sound of the language

One their own the sound of language may well be meaningless. If

you said /t/ (the line shows that this is phonetic script) a few times,

e.g., too, it will not mean very much English. Neither will be sounds

/k/, /a/, or /s/ but if we put all these sounds together in a certain order,

we end up with the word catch and does mean something.

b) Stress

Native speakers of language unconsciously know about stress and

20
 how it works, they know which syllables of words are stressed and

they know how to use stress to change the meaning of phrases,

sentences and questions.

c) Intonation

Intonation is clearly important item and component user of language

recognize what meaning it has and can change the meaning of word

they through using it in different ways, when we taught English

language, student’s need it use rhythms and stress correctly if they

are to be understood.

2) Vocabulary

Vocabulary plays a huge role in Speaking activity. Without

vocabulary, the communication can be run effectively.

a) What is vocabulary?

According to Webster’s near world print dictionary (Webster:

1983:2946), vocabularies are lists of words etc as dictionary or

glossary and all of words used a language or by a person group etc.

According to the Longman dictionary of contemporary English

(Longman 1995:240) vocabularies are all words someone knows,

learns or uses in a particular language, a list of words with explanation

of their meaning, in a book for learning foreign language.

b) Types of vocabulary

Harmer in Nursemaid (2010) distinguishes two types of

vocabulary namely active vocabulary and passive vocabulary. According

21
 to him active vocabulary is that the students have learned and which they

are expected to be able to use. On the other hand, passive vocabulary

refers to words which the students will recognize when they met but will

probably not be divided into four kinds as follows:

1) Oral vocabulary consists of words actively used in speech. These are

the words that come readily to one’s conversation. The more often a

person utters the words the more readily it will come to his tongue.

2) Writing vocabulary is the words that come readily to one’s finger

vocabulary.

3) Listening vocabulary is the stock of words to which one responds with

meaning and understood in Speaking of others.

4) Reading vocabulary is the words that one responds to in the writing of

others.

3) Grammar

One factor in influencing the students‟ speaking skill is functional

grammar. The fact shows that the students sometimes want to speak with

other people but they lack functional grammar.

According to Hornby (1995: 517) grammar is the rules in a language

for changing them into sentences. While Bandulu (2004: 15) states that

grammar is the organization of words into various combinations,

representing many layers of structure, such as phrases, sentences, and

complete utterances.

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 4) Fluency

To speak fluently, students must have both rhythm in their speaking

and an absence of non-fluency in their words. Rhythm has to do with the

irregularity of accenting and phrasing with which they present their words.

According to Webster (1975: 500) fluency refers to being able to speak

or write smoothly, easy and readily to an easy flow is word to person able

to communicate with base it suggests the ready flow accomplish speak or

writing. It is usually a term of communication.

c. Activities to promote Teaching Speaking

In speaking there are many kinds of activities. Speaking is a

productive skill. It involves putting the message together, communicating

the message. In teaching and learning English we need to encourage the

learners to practice both production and interaction. Production is related to

the learners’ ability to produce sound and practice to speak. Interaction is

related to the learners to interact, to communicate or hold relationships with

other people. Speaking activities concentrate on getting learners to produce

sound, phrases or grammatical structure from activities which are controlled

by the teacher.

There are many kinds of speaking activities that can be held by the

teachers and learners. According to Kayi (2006) there are some activities to

promote speaking those are:

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1) Discussions

After a content-based lesson, a discussion can be held for various

reasons. The students may aim to arrive at a conclusion, share ideas

about an event, or find solutions in their discussion groups. This activity

fosters critical thinking and quick decision making, and students learn

how to express and justify themselves in polite ways while disagreeing

with the others. In class or group discussions, whatever the aim is, the

students should always be encouraged to ask questions, paraphrase

ideas, express support, check for clarification, and so on.

2) Role Play

One other way of getting students to speak is role-playing.

Students pretend they are in various social contexts and have a variety

of social roles. In role-play activities, the teacher gives information to

the learners such as who they are and what they think or feel. Thus, the

teacher can tell the students that "You are David, you go to the doctor

and tell him what happened last night, and…" (Harmer, 1984).

3) Simulations

Simulations are very similar to role-plays but what makes

simulations different from role plays is that they are more elaborate.

In simulations, students can bring items to the class to create a realistic

environment. For instance, if a student is acting as a singer, she brings

a microphone to sing and so on. Role plays and simulations have many

advantages.

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 4) Games

A game is one of activities which can help to create dynamic,

motivating classes. The reason is that real learning takes place when

the students, in a relaxed atmosphere, participate in activities that

require them to use what they have been drilled on.

5) Interviews

Students can conduct interviews on selected topics with various

people. It is a good idea that the teacher provides a rubric to students

so that they know what type of questions they can ask or what path to

follow, but students should prepare their own interview questions.

Conducting interviews with people gives students a chance to practice

their speaking ability not only in class but also outside and helps them

become socialized. After interviews, each student can present his or

her study to the class. Moreover, students can interview each other and

"introduce" his or her partner to the class.

3. Concepts of Recount Text

a. Definition of Recount Text

The definition of recount text was stated by Anderson & Anderson

(1998: 24), a recount is a piece of text that retells past events, usually

in the order in which they occurred. Its purpose is to provide the

audience with a description of what occurred and when it occurred.

This will give a description to the readers what occurred and when it

occurred. It also is a good or bad memory of the students or their

25
experiences in past events. Examples of recount text include

eyewitness accounts, newspaper report, letter, conversation, television

interviews, and speeches.

Recount text means the form of the text telling about someone

experience (the experience of the writers themselves) in the past, such

as their adventure and their day’s activities. This statement is in line

with Echols (1975: 471), recount text also means telling about oneself

adventures or the day’s activities.

Besides, According to Rosyadi (2011), recount is a piece of text

that retells past events, usually in the order in which they happened.

The purpose of a recount text is to give the audience a description of

what happened and when it happened. Recounts are used to relate

experiences or retell events for the purpose of informing, entertaining

or reflecting.

A recount text has a social function. Recount tells what happened.

The purpose of a social recount is to document a series of events and

evaluate their significance in some way. It is also to give the audience

a descriptions of what occurred and when it occurred. The purpose of

recount is to tell a sequence of events so that it entertains. The recount

has expressions of attitude and feeling, usually made by narrator about

the events.

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b. Types of Recount Text

In exploring how text works (Derewinka, 1990: 15-17), there are

three types of recount. They are personal recount, factual recount, and

imaginative recount.

1) Personal recount is a recount that retelling of an activity that writer

or speaker has been personally involved in.

2) Factual recount is a recount that recording the particulars of an

accident.

3) Imaginative recount is a recount that taking on an imaginary role

and giving details events.

c. Generic Structure of Recount Text

The recount text has three parts:

1) Orientation

Orientation takes in the First paragraph that give background

information about who, what, where and when.

2) Event

Tell what happened and in what sequence. A record of events

usually recounted in chronological order, named; event 1, event 2,

event 3.

3) Re-orientation

4) Consist of optional-closure of events/ending.

Whereas Hardy and Klarwein (in Emilda, 2010: 13) state the generic

structure of recount text consists of orientation, series of events and re-

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 orientation. In orientation, the writer sets the recount in time and place.

While the series of events arranged in a temporal sequence and often

expressed in terms. The reorientation is the optional element.

C. Theoretical Framework

INPUT
Teaching Speaking to
Students

PROCESS

Teaching Speaking Skill of Recount

Using Ice Breaking Technique in text Pronunciation, Grammar,
Teaching Speaking Vocabulary, Fluency

OUTPUT
Students’ Speaking Skill of
recount text improve significantly

Figure 1 Theoretical Framework

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 CHAPTER III

RESERCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter describes the method of the research, subject of the research,

instrument of the research, procedure of collecting data, and technique of data

analysis.

A. Method of the Research

The design of this research uses classroom action research. This research

will be conducted in some cycles to solve the problems discovered in the

teaching and learning process based on the observation and interview. In

accordance with McTaggart cited in Burns (2001:45) action research has four

stages: planning, action, observing, and reflecting.

The aim of the research is to improve the students’ speaking skill through

Ice Breaking technique. The researcher tries to improve the way of teaching

speaking especially by using Ice Breaking activity to the students.

The scheme of action looks like this:

Figure 2 The Action Research Cycles

Kemi’s and McTaggart in Koshy 2005)

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B. Subject of the Research

The subject of the research is the seventh-grade students of SMP

Negeri 7 Mimika. The class has 28 students, consisting of 13 female, and 15

male students.

C. Instrument of the Research

In collecting the data, the researcher uses two instruments. They are test

and observations.

1. Test

Test will be given to the students in order to find out whether ice

breaking techniques increase students’ speaking ability. In this research,

the test will be divided into two categories; Pre-test and Post-test. The aim

of the pretest is to find out the students’ ability toward their speaking skill

before the treatment is conducted. On the other hand, the post-test is to

find out whether their speaking ability increases or not after the treatment.

The test is conducted by using ice breaking to collect the data of pre-test

and post-test, the researcher applies an oral proficiency test.

2. Observation

Observation guidelines will be used in the reconnaissance and action

and observation steps. In the reconnaissance step, the observation will be

used to find out the existing problems. Meanwhile, in the action and

observation steps, the observation will be used to see the implementation

of the actions.

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D. Procedure of Collecting Data

According to Kemi’s and Mc Taggart, classroom action research is

carried out through a dynamic and complementary process consisting of 4

aspects, namely as follows:

Cycle 1

The first cycle consists of planning, action, observation, and reflecting.

1. Planning

In this section, researcher: will make lesson plans or roles, prepare

teaching materials and prepare all concerned with research.

2. Action

In this section, the researcher will research for the first time. In this

first meeting, the researcher will ask in advance the condition of the

student. Then introduce yourself to students and vice versa. Before

research on teaching using ice breaking. The researcher explain the

materials first. Then the researcher tests the students' ability to convey

the ideas in English without using ice breaking techniques. After that, the

researcher will interview students individually about the current learning

outcomes. For the next meeting about what researchers will do and the

researcher will conduct observations.

3. Observation

In this section, the researcher identifies problems during the

learning process that are observed such as student participation in class,

what are the obstacles faced by students during the teaching and learning

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 process.

4. Reflecting

In this section, teacher and researcher look back on the strengths and

weaknesses of the ice breaking technique, estimating the solution to the

obstacles that arise during the action, identifying the constraints or threats

that may be faced, estimating the consequences and implications of

planned actions. The reflection should make research planning for the next

cycle II if there are fewer things in cycle I.

E. Technique of Data Analysis

The purpose of analysing data is to find meaning in the data by

systematically arranging and presenting the information. Scoring Technique

and Speaking accuracy divided into pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and

fluency.

1. Scoring Rubric of Speaking Skill

Table 1 Pronunciation
Classification Score Criteria

They speak very understandable and high

9.6 – 10
Excellent of pronunciation.
They speak very understandable and very
8.6 – 9.5
Very good good pronunciation.
They speak effectively and good of
7.6 – 8.5
Good pronunciation.
They speak sometimes hasty but fairly
6.6 – 7.5
Fairly good good pronunciation.

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 Classification Score Criteria

They speak sometimes hasty, fair of

5.6 – 6.5
Fair pronunciation.
They speak hasty and more sentences are
3.6 – 5.5
Poor not appropriate in pronunciation.
They speak very hastily and most sentences are
Very poor 0.0 – 3.5 not appropriate in pronunciation and little or no
communication.

Table 2 Grammar

Classification Score Criteria

They speak effectively and excellent of using

9.6 – 10
Excellent Grammar
They speak effectively and very good of using
8.6 – 9.5 grammar
Very good
They speak effectively and have good
7.6 – 8.5 grammar.
Good
They speak sometimes hastily but fairly good
6.6 – 7.5 at using grammar.
Fairly good
They sometimes speak in a hasty, fair way of
5.6 – 6.5 using grammar.
Fair
They speak hasty, and more sentences are not
3.6 – 5.5 appropriate using grammar
Poor
They speak very hastily and most sentences are
Very poor 0.0 – 3.5 not appropriate using grammar and little or no
communication.

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 Table 3 Fluency

Classification Score Criteria

They speak very understandable and high

9.6 – 10
Excellent of smoothness.
They speak very understandable and very
8.6 – 9.5
Very good good smoothness.
They speak very under stable and good of
7.6 – 8.5
Good smoothness.
They speak sometimes hasty but fairly
6.6 – 7.5
Fairly good good smoothness.
They speak sometimes hasty, fair of
5.6 – 6.5
Fair smoothness.
They speak hasty and more sentences are
3.6 – 5.5
Poor not appropriate in smoothness.
They speak very hastily and more sentences are
0.0 – 3.5 not appropriate in smoothness and little or no
Very poor communication.

Table 4 Vocabulary

Classification Score Criteria

They speak effectively and excellent of using

9.6 – 10
Excellent Vocabulary.
They speak effectively and are very good at
8.6 – 9.5 using vocabulary.
Very good
They speak effectively and have good
7.6 – 8.5 vocabulary.
Good

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 Classification Score Criteria

They speak sometimes hastily but fairly good

6.6 – 7.5 at using vocabulary.
Fairly good
They sometimes speak in a hasty, fair way of
5.6 – 6.5 using vocabulary.
Fair
They speak hastily, and more sentences are
3.6 – 5.5 not appropriate using vocabulary.
Poor
They speak very hastily and most sentences
Very poor 0.0 – 3.5 are not appropriate using vocabulary and
little or no communication.

(Harmer in Fady, 2014: 31)

2. To classify the students’ score, there are seven classifications used as follows:

Table 5 Score Classifications

No Score Classification
1. 9.6 - 100 Excellent
2. 86-95 Very Good
3. 76-85 Good
4. 66-75 Fairly Good
5. 56-65 Fairly
6. 46-55 Poor
7. 0-35 Very Poor
(Brown, 2012)

3. To count the percentage of the answer chosen by the participants, the researcher

referred to the statistical formula by Sudjana (2008), as follows:

P=FN x 100%

Where P : Percentage

35
 F : Frequency of Respondents

N : The number of students

4. Finding out the mean score by using formula:

X=∑XN

Where X : Mean Score

∑X : The number of all scores

N : The number of students

(Gay in Sairil:2011)

36
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