USING REPETITION DRILL IN IMPROVING STUDENS’

PRONOUNCIATION

(A Classroom Action Research at Seventh Grade Students of SMP Negeri 2 Timpah

Satu Atap in Academic Year 2018/2019)

I. BACKGROUND OF RESEARCH.

In facing the global era, we should prepare our generation to skillful

generation. They have to be equipped with many kinds of skills and one of important

skills is mastering English. It is essential because in the coming year many foreigners

will come to our country. We can only communicate with them if we including our

generation master English well.

Realizing how important English is it becomes one of foreign languages that

must be thought at school. However based on the writer’s experience as an English

teacher, there are many students who find difficulty in studying this language

although they have been studying it for several years. One of their difficulties is to

pronounce English words or sentences. They always make mistake if they want to

speak English, so it becomes a serious problem for them in learning this English.

To overcome this problem, the writer would like to do a research that is called

classroom action research. It is conducted in order to find out which technique is

suitable to be used in improving students’ ability in learning English pronunciation,

so that they can express their thoughts feelings, opinions, or ideas correctly by using

English.

II. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM.

In teaching English Pronunciation, it had been known that the students got

problem in producing English words or sentences.

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 Based on the problem above, it has been done a classroom action research to

determine which technique is suitable to overcome the problem. In doing this

research the researcher was helped by a team teaching that consist the principal of

SMP Negeri 2 Timpah Satu Atap and the other English teachers. So the research was

done collaboratively. The team teaching helped the researcher if there was luck in

conducting the research. They gave suggestions or salutations to find another

alternative to solve the problem.

III. THE PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH.

The purpose of this research is:

1. To try some technique in overcoming the students’ problem in producing English

words or sentences.

2. To find the suitable technique that can be used to improve the students’ ability in

learning English pronunciation.

IV. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH.

By doing this research hopefully that:

1. The English teacher will use the technique found in this research when they face

the same problem in teaching English pronunciation.

2. By using the technique above the students can produce good English words or

sentences spontaneously.

V. EXPLANATION OF THE TERM USED.

 Learning. Enguine, C Kim and Richard D.K. (1983) said, “Learning is the

changing of behavioral tendencies through experience”. (p.13)

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 Teaching. Brown (19979) said, “Teaching is showing or helping someone to

learn how to do something providing with knowledge causing to know or to

understand. (p.7)

 Technique. George D. Dien (1962) said, “Technique is the way we carry out

the method. (p.3)

VI. FRAME OF THEORY

A. Drills.

Marry Finocehiaro and Michael Bonomo said, “Drills are central at all levels

of learning” (p.1030. Winarno Achmad (19780 also stated, “In order to obtain the

proficiency and skills, drills on the subject being learned is important” (p.10).

Drills belong to audio lingual method. These techniques are used to train the

students in learning pronunciation. Multon William (1968) said,

“Through thousands and thousands of hours 0f practice the adults of teenage

students have built of a virtuous in the pronunciation of English sounds. This

muscular habit so marvelously formed, that they almost automatically

exclude the possibility of pronouncing anything but in English sound”. (p.17)

From quotation above it is clearly seen that the mastery language can be

formed through habit formation. It means that the students can also be accustomed to

speaking English by train them to pronounce good words or sentences till become a

habit. In this case teacher has a very important role in training the students. He or she

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has to be skillful to apply the method or technique that will be used for teaching and

learning process.

There are some kinds of drills that can be applied for teaching English

pronunciation, such as repetition drill, discrimination drills, and alternation drills. To

overcome the students’ problem in producing good pronunciation, it seems that

repetition drill is suitable one to be used. In this case teacher becomes the model to

pronounce the word or sentences and the students will repeat them, or we can use

tape recorder, students will listen to it and repeat the words or sentences they heard.

So they listen to good pronunciation and they also will produce good pronunciation.

Repetition drill is always possible to be applied as long as it leads the

students to the terminal goal of the lesson. However it should be used during the

learning practice.

B. Treatment and hypothesis.

The hypothesis is formulated according to the treatment done in the class.

1. The first treatment using substitution drill.

Hypothesis : By using substitution drill, students’ achievement in learning

English pronunciation will be improved.

2. The second treatment using transformational drill.

Hypothesis : By using transformational drill the students’ ability in studying

English pronunciation will be improved.

3. The third treatment using repetition drill.

Hypothesis : By using repetition drill students’ achievement in learning

English pronunciation will be improved.

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VII. THE METHOD AND PROCEDURE OF RESEARCH

A. Method.

This research is called classroom action research. Stepehen Kemmis and

Robin Metaggarat stae that this method is chosen in accordance with the purpose and

the problem of research found daily teaching in the classroom. The data is obtained

through observation, documentation, interview, students’ score and analysis. This

research involves the principals and other English teachers as a research team.

The research was conducted in three treatments or actions. A test was given

after applying each treatment, so there are three time test during this research. Those

test were given in order to know the students achievement in each treatment, it would

be easier to determine which technique was suitable for solving the problem.

B. Setting and Subject of research.

The research was conducted in SMP Negeri 2 Timpah Satu Atap, where the

researcher is teaching. The subject of the research was the first year students. There

were some parallel Classes but only one class was chosen to be the subject of the

research.

The class consists of twenty seven students. The class is possible to be the

subject of the research because the students of the class do not have the same

achievement. They are homogeneous in some characteristics beside they are also

facing the problem in studying English pronunciation.

C. Procedure.

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 The procedure in doing the research will follow the system model which is

stated by Stephen Kemmis and Robin Mataggarat (1988):

1. Planning.

2. Act and observed.

3. Reflection.

4. Revised Plan. (p.10).

Before conducting the system model, it is important to do the following things:

a. Forming a research team.

To find a way out problem, the headmaster of the school and other English

teacher have been involved in this research. They worked together as a team to

observe, analyze and give reflection toward the action done in the classroom.

b. Pre observation before the action.

While the teaching and learning process were going on, the team was doing

observation to see what problems were being faced by the students.

Based on the observation, it was found that the students get problem in learning

English pronunciation.

The team suggested the teacher to making variation in presenting the material

and using various technique of teaching. It was suggested to applying substitution

drill first.

1. The first treatment.

a) Plan.

The First technique planned to be used was substitution drill.

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 Hypothesis: By using repetition drill students’ achievement in learning English

pronunciation would be improved.

b) Act and observe.

- First act: Teaching by using substitution drill.

Steps :

 Preparing materials.

 Making a schedule of act.

 Observation was done by the team.

 Application.

c) Reflection.

The team analyzed the result. It was not satisfy yet. The technique used did

not improve the students’ ability in learning English pronunciation. It means

that the hypothesis had not been accepted yet and the team suggested the

researcher applying another technique.

d) Revised plan.

Since the first act could not improve the hypothesis, the second act should

be done. In this act another technique was applied.

2. The second treatment.

a) The second technique planned to be used is transformation drill.

Hypothesis: The students’ ability in learning English pronunciation would

be improved by using transformation drill.

b) Act and observe.

- Second act: Teaching by using transformation drill.

 Preparing the material.

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  Team teaching monitored the activities and takes some notes while

the processes were going on.

 Application

c) Reflection.

After the team analyzed the result, it showed that the students’ achievement

had not improved yet by using this technique. They still made many

mistakes in pronouncing English words or sentences, so the team suggested

using another technique.

d) Revised plan.

The second act had not improved the student’s ability in learning English

pronunciation. The third would be done by using another technique.

3. The third treatment.

a) Plan.

The third technique planned to be used was repetition drill.

Hypothesis: By using repetition drill the students’ ability in learning

English pronunciation would be improve.

b) Act and observe.

 Preparing the material for teaching and learning process.

 The team kept monitoring and collecting the data while the teaching

and learning was going on.

 Application.

c) Reflection.

The result of the third act as follow:

 Teaching and learning process run well.

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  Students could do the test well.

 Student’s score have been improved.

The team concluded that repetition drill can improve students’ achievement

in learning English pronunciation. This technique is suitable to be used to

overcome the problem. It means that the Hypothesis is accepted.

D. Instrument.

The instruments of the research are tests. They are used to collect the data. The

test is given according to the treatment. There are three treatments applied in this

research. So there are three times tests. Those tests are given because the result can

be easily be quantified and they are analyzed by comparing t1, t2 and t3.

BLIBIOGRAPHY

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Bratt Paulston and Marry Newton Bruder (1976) , Teaching English as second

Language:

Technique and Procedure, Winthrop Publisher, Inc.Cambrige Massachuetts.

Brooks (1964), Approach and Method in Language teaching.

Finocchiaro Mary (1976), Motivation in Language Learning, English Teaching

Forum, Volume XIV.

Lado Robert (1964), Language Teaching, Mc Grow Hill Book Company, Ltd. New

Delhi

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