THE USE OF TEXT BASED TASK TO IMPROVE STUDENTS LISTENING ABILITY A.

Background of the Study In the process of teaching and learning English, students' ability in mastering the four language skills becomes an important goal. These will involve receptive skills; listening skill (understanding the spoken language), reading skill (understanding written language) and productive skills; speaking skill (producing spoken language) and writing skill (producing written language). Unfortunately, most of Indonesia education institutions in which English is one of first foreign languages have concerned with the teaching of written language. In fact, mastering spoken language is very important in communication. In order to master the spoken language, we must be able to speak and we must be able to listen to spoken language. In language classroom, listening tends to be neglected; many language educators assume that listening is automatically acquired while the learners learn to speak a language. Rost states that unlike speaking, however, through which we can record a child's first words and even measure the fluency of a person's contribution to a conversation, listening is less directly observed and less noticeable in both its development and its everyday use (1994:1). However, students need to learn how to listen to improve their listening ability. Listening is very important in language learning, students understand the content of spoken language by listening. The relationship between listening and language learning is that language learning depends on listening. Listening provides the aural input that serves as the basis for language acquisition and enables learners to interact in spoken language. Rost (1994: 148) states that teaching listening is an important part of second language teaching. Most teaching methodologies emphasize the role of listening in language learning. Listening is not a simple process. In order to understand the content of spoken language, students require some of listening skills. Nunan describes listening as follows: In relation to listening, learners need skills in segmenting the stream of speech into meaningful words and phrases: the ability to recognise words, phrases and words classes: ways of relating incoming message to one's own background knowledge, and identifying the rhetorical and functional intent of an utterance or parts of an aural text: skills in interpreting rhythm, stress and intonation to identify information focus and emotional/attitudinal tone: the ability to extract the gist/or essential information from longer aural texts without necessarily understanding every word (1998:6). In line with Rost (1994:136-137) states that understanding how listening ability develops requires a comprehensive view of what it means to improve. Listening involves psychological skills, such as recognizing between sounds, parsing speech into constituent parts and processing the discourse in term of cohesion, logic and

relevant underlying schemas. Rost (1994:148) also says that listening can be taught as component skills. Specific learning activities can be designed which target specific skills. Furthermore, students' listening ability can be improved by developing their listening skill. Teaching listening of foreign language is the most difficult one. Foreign language students do not have native speakers' competence in using their background knowledge and for recognizing words or grammatical characteristic of spoken language easily. Listening is also more difficult than reading, a reader can cast an eye back over misunderstood phrase, but the listener gets no second time. English is a compulsory subject in Indonesia, which must be taught starting from Junior High School level until University level involving the teaching of listening. The problems which are faced by students in learning listening may be caused by many factors, such as teacher, students, teaching technique and teaching material. This research focuses on the listening problems as experienced by the eighth grade students of SMPN X. Based on Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan (KTSP) in teaching listening at the eighth grade students of SMP, the students are expected to be able to: 1) understand the meaning of a simple transactional and interpersonal dialogue, 2) understand the meaning of a functional and short simple monologue spoken text in the form of descriptive, narrative, recount, procedure, and report text related to surrounding environment. In the real condition, the students have lack of listening ability in understanding the content of spoken text. This problem is indicated as follows: 1) the students are difficult to recognize the words and grammatical characteristic of spoken text, 2) the students are difficult to catch the clues information of spoken text, 3) the students are difficult to infer the speaker's intention or meaning, 4) the students are difficult to do the listening task and 5) Most of the students are still confused with the purpose of their listening activity. In addition, the classroom situation is not live during the teaching and learning process, it is shown as follows: 1) Most of the students do not active in answering the teacher's questions, 2) most of the students do not try to ask the teacher about their difficulties in listening, 3) Some of the students just listen to the teacher without doing the listening task, 4) Some of the students are busy in talking to their friends and 5) the students seem to be bored in doing the listening activity. Those problems are caused by: the lack of the students' vocabularies and grammar, the low of the students' listening strategy; they try to understand the content of spoken language word by word, rather than try to link what they hear with their previous knowledge or try to find clue information, and the difficulties of the listening tasks. Besides, the teaching technique and teaching material are the main factors causing the lack of the students' listening ability. The technique which is used by the teacher is reading the text twice or three times and followed by several questions, rather than gives specific task to the students before listening. It makes

the students confused with their listening purpose. The teacher hardly ever uses recorded material in listening that makes the students bored and very difficult to listen to the English of native speakers. To overcome these problems, the English teacher and I would like to conduct an action research study by using text-based task (TBT). In TBT, students process the text based on the listening task given. Willis gives the term 'text-based task' to design communicative tasks based on reading and listening text or video extracts (1998:67).Text-based tasks also bring efficient listening strategies, strategies to comprehend the content from detail linguistic components and from students' background knowledge. This is argued by Willis (1998:75) who states: All text based-tasks aim to encourage natural and efficient reading/listening/viewing strategies, focusing initially on retrieval of sufficient relevant meaning for the purpose of the task. This will entail both holistic processing, i.e. gaining an overall impression, and picking up detailed linguistics clues: a combination of what are commonly called 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' processes. Task is used as a means of delivering teaching materials to students and to create enjoyable classroom environment by engaging students in the learning process through the use of task. According to Willis (1998:40), states that language learners need variety and security. A wide range of topics, texts and task types gives learners variety. A framework with three distinction phases; pre-task, task cycle and language focus also gives them a sense of security. Language focus phase after the task cycle makes students to begin to worry less about new language they meet during the task cycle because they know they will have a chance to explore it later. Willis (1998:83) also explains that the aims of text-based tasks are to provide a wide repertoire of task types and designs based on written and spoken texts and require learners to apply their real-world knowledge and experience to assign meaning to what they see, hear or read. The research uses recorded text by fluent or native speakers to give variety in teaching listening and to introduce the natural characteristics of spoken text to students. Cross (1995:250) argues that through recording, the class can be offered the chance to hear naturally spoken English, with elisions, linked consonants, weakened vowels and all the hesitations, false starts and imperfections of unplanned speech. In line with Rost (1996:160) states that many language educators, (e.g. Besse, et al) point out that there is a great advantage in using pre-recorded texts of native speaker conversations and native speakers oriented programmes in the classroom because of the genuiness they provide. Moreover Morton (1999:177) states that the use of authentic texts enable students to study 'real' English instead of the English contrived by teachers. Authentic texts are thought to motivate students because they are derived from the ultimate goal of students' studies-English as used by native speakers. Therefore, recorded text can motivate students and they get a challenge to attempt to understand language as it

as actually used by native speakers. Based on the descriptions above, I am inspired to conduct an action research study at the 8th grade students of SMPN X. Through action research, the teacher and I can observe the students' problems, monitor the students' listening ability improvement by the action research's cycle, and make some reflections to be implemented for further practice. Wallace states that action research involves the collection and analysis of data related to some aspect of our professional practice. This is done so we can reflect on what we have discovered and apply it to our professional action (1999: 16-17). This study aimed at the improvement of the students' listening ability and at the improvement of the classroom listening situation using Text-Based Task.

IMPROVING STUDENTS SPEAKING SKILL USING VIDEO Background of the Study From the 1999 syllabus of vocational school, it can be seen that the school started to teach their students not only English for specific purpose but also general English. The syllabus is designed to fulfill the needs of the students. Graduating from vocational school, most of the students wish to implement the skill they have learned. They have to meet certain requirements in order to get work. One of the requirements is having sufficient skill in foreign language especially English. Learning English means learning language components and language skills. Grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and spelling are examples of language components. Meanwhile, language skill covers listening, writing, reading, and speaking. Among the four skills, speaking is often considered as the most difficult skill to be learned by the students. Brown and Yule (1983) state that learning to talk in the foreign language is often considered being one of the most difficult aspects of language learning for the teacher to help the students with. Helping the students develop the speaking skill not merely so that they can pass examination but also for more general use when they want to use the English in the outside world. They may need for further study, work or leisure, so that they will not be among the

many people who unable to express his idea in English after having studied it for some years. The teachers, therefore, are challenged to develop various teaching techniques. The variety of teaching techniques will help learners to get higher motivation to learn English. William and Burden (1997:111) say that motivation is the most powerful influences on learning. In this research, teaching speaking using video is introduced. Video as an audio visual aids is beneficial for the teacher and students in English Language Teaching. Video can be used as an aid to teach the four skills namely reading, listening, speaking and writing. Rice (1993) says that video has so much to offer. Furthermore, Heimei (1997) states that students love video because video presentation is interesting, challenging, and stimulating to watch. It also brings how people behave in culture whose language they are learning into the classroom. It enables students to have authentic experience in controlled environment. It is also contextualizing language naturally by showing real life into the classroom. Based on the phenomenon above, it is necessary to conduct a classroom action research. This research is originated with Kurt Lewin, an American psychologist, who introduced it in educational research in the mid 1940s. Although the research is classified as either quantitative or qualitative research, the method applied in this research is qualitative methods. It allows us to describe what is happening and to understand the effects of some educational intervention. The principal foundations conducting this research are to solve the identified problem and to understand the effects of some interventions. These two principals are aimed to make improvement and to see change. Mills (2006:6) says that the goals of conducting action research are to gain insight, to develop reflective practice, to effect positive changes in the school environment (and on educational practices in general), and to improve student outcomes and the lives of those involved. Thats why a collaboration classroom action research with a vocational school teacher to improve speaking skill of the second grade students of SMK X is conducted in this research.

CLASSROOM ACTION RESEARCH: IMPROVING WRITING SKILLS USING PICTURES CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the research One of the basic competencies of English taught to the grade VIII of Junior High School based on Competence Based Curriculum 2004 is to express idea in written texts in the form

of narrative, descriptive, and recount. This competency requires mastery of language components such as grammatical feature, vocabulary and ability to arrange text cohesively. Producing text using certain genre seems difficult. Students have to have large amount of vocabulary, mastery of grammatical feature, and understanding the generic structure. The difficulties has found in the grade VIIIA of SMPN Sukorambi Jember academic year 20072008. The earlier study through competency test worked out to 43 students, showed that 34 students or around 79% students are not able to reach score 60 as the passing grade of this competency especially in arranging text or paragraph. Result of the test has shown that the students found difficulty in composing paragraph to be a passage. This difficulty happened because the students arent able to create imagination in their mind. Children (age 6-15) tend not to use the right brain hemisphere to think which has ability to recognize form and shape, music, art, sense of colour, creativity and visualization (Susilo: 68). To solve the students problem, some approach, method and technique have been set up to overcome it. Beside that media also influence the result of the study. The use of media, such as pictures in learning environment will not only change the dynamic of the class but it will also rejuvenate students and help the brain to learn more effectively (Agoestyowati:5). In the hope to improve the students writing ability, media using pictures is applied. The research decides to use pictures to help students to solve their problem in composing texts because pictures are easy interpreted and support fun learning.

TEACING WRITING SKILL THROUGH AUDIO- VISUAL TEACING WRITING SKILL THROUGH AUDIO- VISUAL Lecture: Cunong Suraja By: Imas safitri 07211210695 ENGLISH EDUCATION PROGRAM FACULTY OF TEACHING AND ADUCATION IBN KHALDUN UNIVERSITY BOGOR 2010 Chapter I INTRODUCTION A. Background Writing is one of the skills that plays an important role in teaching English in our country. Teachers are demanded to teach English as interestingly as possible to students. A creative teacher will find a way to create a positive learning atmoshpere in order that the students are not bored to listen to the teachers explanation. It is clear that one of the problems faced by the teacher in teaching is how to motivate students through an effective way. One of the ways to motivate students in learning is teaching through audiovisual. Audiovisual will make them interested in learning. According to stempleksi (1990: 11) lesson with video should be enjoyable and should provide even mediocre students with a genuine sense of achievement. It means that teaching through audio visual can make the students feel their interest quicken when language is experienced in a lively way. The combination of moving pictures and sound can present language more comprehensively and more realistically than any other teaching medium. In addition, we can note that teaching writing through audiovisual must be intrinsically interesting or attractive and must comprise a complete unit of meaning regardless of its context. Arnold ( 1988:70) says, The visual features of spoken language are facial expression, gestures, body movement and proximity. In addition there are any other supra segmental features such as voice quality, intination, stress, pause and so on which writing some what in adequately tries to indicate with graphic features such as paragraphing punctuation, underlining, question marks, italics etc.

Background

There are four skills such as listening, speaking, reading and writing that are thought inEnglish. Speaking is considered the most important skills to master, because there is anassumption that students must learn and speak English fluently in this globalization era. Withspeaking people know everything about the language, no matter how well or bad the speaker produces the language. In junior high school speaking should be learn and should be practicingin the classroom. The students must try to speak in English lesson to make them to communicatein English.Many English language teachers meet with difficulties to teach their students to speak inthe classroom, this is because teacher did not have good media and cant create fun when theyteach students. Certainly it make students lazy and feel afraid to make mistake, lack of vocabulary, do not care and do not pay attention when the teacher explain the lesson. So theteachers try to find the solution to improve students speaking ability. Also teacher wants studentsto practice their English in daily life as well as in the classroom at least. In the future they will beable to communicate effectively based on their need of the social context among different peopleand different situation.In teaching English, the teacher must try to find several ways such as using media that tomake their student to speak fluently. So teacher can use media such as video in teachingspeaking. It is use to make their student interesting and fell enjoy to studying the lesson. Video isthe technology to capture, record, process, transmit and rearrange the moving picture that can be used in teaching and learning process. Using video teacher can create fun and enjoy situation toimprove students speaking ability. Beside that student can find new idea and vocabulary after watching the video.From the problem above, I think it is hard for the teacher to teach English well. Thereforeit is needed to do an effective and innovative media to motivate the students speaking ability byusing video. Teachers argue that watching video it is an enjoyable activity to make the studentsto improve their speaking ability at junior high school