IMPROVING STUDENT’S SPEAKING MASTERY USING

INFORMATION GAP AT THE SECOND YEAR OF SMP N 3

KEBAKRAMAT KARANGANYAR IN 2007/2008

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

Communication is an essential need for human being. Language as the tool of communication

has an important role to reveal an intention to someone else. People will be able to express

their thought and feeling by using language. Language, communication and life can not be

separated.

Language can be applied in many aspects, such as: education, society, politics, economics,

and culture. One of the ways in communication is through speaking. It is very important to

master speaking well. To master speaking ability, students must be trained to use English in

communication orally. The frequency in using the language will determine the success in

speaking ability. Without implementing the experience of learning the language in the real

life, it is difficult for the students to master speaking ability. Hence, speaking competence can

be accomplished by practicing it orally. In teaching English at the second grade of SMP N 3

Kebakkramat, the teacher teaches the students traditionally. They let the students only

memorize the vocabulary, instead of using it. Then, the teacher asks the students to write

down the words without asking the students to use it in the communication, yet some of the

students do not know the function of this language exercise. This teacher-centered technique

makes the student passive in learning English. The traditional method influences the teaching

of speaking in which there are many problems appear. First, it relates to the condition of

students who are lack of vocabulary which will make them unable to say words during

speaking class. Second, the students get used to speak their Javanese language. Third, they

rarely practice to use English to communicate. Fourth, most of the students are not confident

to use English in speaking class. For

instance, when the teacher asks them to come forward to have a conversation with their

friends, they refuse it. They are shy to perform English conversation in front of their friends.

Finally, the student is they are not interested in the material given to them. The teacher is also

having difficulties to teach in large class. The main problem is the way to manage it. During

the teaching hours the teacher should make the students pay attention to the materials given

to them. It needs hard work for getting the students attention. Lack of control also occurs

when they teach in the large class. Therefore, it is difficult to implement the individual

control for each student. Thus, the teacher cannot evaluate each student’s proficiency. From

the problems above the writer tries to give a solution for the teacher to implement one of

teaching methods. There is a method of teaching learning method which is interesting and it

can improve student’s ability and liveliness, namely information gap method. This method is

designed to create the students’ interest to learn with pleasant method. The core of

information gap method is corporation between groups and shared. In an information gap

activity, one person has certain information that must be shared with others in order to solve a

problem, gather information or make decisions (Neu&Reeser). Information gap is a useful

activity in which one person has information that the other lacks. Another advantage of

information gap activities is that students are forced to negotiate meaning because they must

make what they are saying comprehensible to others in

order to accomplish the task (Neu&Reeser, 1997: 128) These types of activities are extremely

effective in the L2 classroom. They give every student opportunity to speak in the target

language for an extended period of time and students naturally produce more speech than

they would otherwise. In addition, speaking with peers is less intimidating than presenting in

front of the entire class and being evaluated.

If our goal as second language educator is to have our learners speak with confidence in the

target language, then we must make an effort to provide our students with a greater variety o

opportunities to speak in the target language. Information gap activities are an effective

means for accomplishing this goal.

B. Previous Study

The first previous research was done by Muljayanah (2004) entitled “The Implementation of

communicative language teaching speaking AT LIA SURAKARTA: Ethnography. In her

research, she describes the implementation of communicative language teaching and the

strength and the weakness of teaching speaking using communicative language teaching. The

second previous research was done by Dwi Henrie W. A (2002) entitled “Improving

Students’ Pronunciation in Speaking Class through Repetition Technique: An Action

Research at the Fifth Year Students of SDN PREMULUNG. In his research, she describes the

implementation of

Repetition Technique to improve the students’ pronunciation speaking ability. The previous

research describes the implementation of improving students’ speaking mastery using

information gap. The present research also deals with the new technique applied in English

speaking at SMP N 3 KEBAKKRAMAT KARANGANYAR. So, it can be said that this

research

is quite different from the previous studies above.

C. Limitation of the Study

To make the problem easy to be discussed deeply, the writer focuses the problem as follows.

1. The subject of researcher in this research is the second grade students of SMP N 3

KEBAKKRAMAT KARANGANYAR.

2. The implementation of information gap technique to improve the students’ speaking

mastery.

D. Problem Statement

The problems that will be studied in this research are stated as follows.

1. How is the implementation of Information Gap Technique to improve

the students’ speaking mastery?

2. Does information gap technique improve the students’ speaking mastery?

3. What are the students’ response on the implementation of information gap technique?

E. Objective of the Study

This research is aimed at

1. describing the implementation of information gap to improve the students’ speaking

mastery.

2. describing the improvement of the students’ speaking mastery.

3. describing the students’ response on the implementation of information gap technique.

F. Benefit the Study

1. Theoretical Benefit

a. The result of the research can be useful for students on pronunciation, memorize and

vocabulary in implementation of information gap.

b. The result of the research can be useful for English teacher in implementation of

information gap to improve the speaking mastery.

c. The result of the research is used as the reference for those who want to conduct a research

of students’ speaking mastery using information gap.

2. Practical Benefit

a. The result will help the teacher increasing the students’ speaking mastery.

b. The result will help the students in increasing their speaking mastery.

c. The result will help the students to increasing their speaking ability in interaction with

each other.

d. The result will give the information to the teacher in the way in carrying out the

information gap on teaching speaking to increase the students’ speaking mastery.

G. Research Paper Organization

The research paper comprises five chapters; chapter 1 is introduction which covers

background of the study, previous study, problem statement, objective of the study, benefit of

the study, and research paper organization. Chapter II is underlying theories that consist of

the notion of teaching speaking and the notion of information gap method. Chapter III is

research method that consists of type of research, object of the study, subject of the study,

research location, research procedure, and method of collecting data and technique for

analyzing data. Chapter IV is related to the process of the implementation of teaching

speaking using information gap method, the result of the implementation of teaching

speaking using information gap method in teaching learning process and the student’s

opinion on the implementation of information gap technique.

Chapters V is conclusion and suggestion.

CHAPTER II

UNDERLYING THEORY

In this chapter, the researcher would like elaborate the theory related to the research which is

done by the researcher. It is crucial for the researcher and the readers to recognize the

definition or the meaning of title of this research in order to make easier for the researcher in

analyzing and

understanding the problem deeply. Follows are the theories that will be discussed in this

research globally: teaching speaking and information gap.

A. Teaching Speaking

1. Notion of Speaking

Speaking skill should be taught and practiced in the language classroom. Because the

language course truly enables the students to communicate in English, so speaking skill needs

the special treatment. In the reality, in our daily life most of us speak more than we write; yet

many English teachers still spend the majority of class time on reading and writing practice

almost ignoring speaking and listening skills. Based on the statement above, there should be a

good balance to practice in classroom. According to Hornby (1995:826) speaking is making

use of wordsm in an ordinary voice, offering words, knowing and being able to use a

language expressing one-self in words, and making speech. Therefore the writer infers that

speaking uses the word and produces the sound to express ourselves either ideas, feeling,

thought and needs orally in an ordinary voice. Furthermore, success in communication is

often dependent as much on the listener as on the speaker.

There are three components to make fluent in producing speech, namely vocabulary,

pronunciation, and grammar. According to Walter (1973:11) speaking is one way of learning

about one self. In speaking, someone must face problems that have history and relatively to

other people, groups, and the predictions we have formed for living together. While Tarigan

(1990:3) states speaking that is gotten by the children preceded by listening skill. After

getting the language input the students are able to master speaking skill. So that, speaking is

the way to

express our idea and feeling to one another.

2. Notion of Teaching Speaking

Teaching speaking is sometimes considered as a simple process of commercial language

school around the world, which hires people with no training to teach conversation. Although

speaking is totally natural, speaking in a language other than our own is anything but simple

(Nunan, 2003:48). Based on the statement above that teaching conversation to the students in

foreign language is simple. Because learning spoken language sometimes ignores the

grammar rule and the other hand the students need to form good habit in English speaking

practice.

Furthermore, the writer will elaborate the notion of teaching according to oxford advanced

learner’s dictionary teaching which means giving the instruction to someone else: give

someone else ( knowledge, skill, etc )

While Haskew and Mc Lendon in Sutopo, (2000:9) states as follows:

a. Teaching is action to increase the odds that potential learners will learn.

b. Teaching is action to point learning toward desired to accomplishment by learners.

c. Teaching is action to make knowledge create sense.

d. Teaching is to present learners a live opportunity to learn.

e. Teaching is action to enhance the persons who are learning.

Moreover, teaching speaking skill emphasizes on the activities to make the students active

and creative. West (1968) in Fauziati,(2002:145) states that to increase students’ speaking

mastery the teacher must concern with the student –to –student –interaction. The great part of

time in the process of learning speaking is dominated by students. Afterwards, it’s dominated

by the instructor. This maximizes the students’ competence in speaking. The students learn

what they are going to say with other in front of the class and try to develop their creativity

orally. Therefore, the writer tries to give definition of teaching speaking is the instruction of

the teacher/tutor to the students to encourage them in using the language orally to express

their ideas, feeling and opinion to someone else and also encourage the potential of the

learners to develop their speaking skill naturally.

3. Element of Speaking

In speaking, it is very important for student to acquire the ability to express their ideas and

opinions. Consequently, this competency should be mastered by the learners of language.

Following are the elements of speaking ability according to (Harmer, 2001:269-271), a.

language features such as the connected speech, expressive devices, lexis and grammar, and

negotiation language. Connected speech is the modifying in sounds production or utterances

such as assimilation, omission, addition, weakened (through contraction and stress

patterning). An expressive device is the alteration of the speed, volume, and stress of

utterances to show the feeling. The use of this device contributes the ability to convey

meaning. Then lexis and grammar is necessary for the teacher to give of supply of certain

words and language function, such as agreeing or disagreeing, surprise, and so forth. Those

make students can produce at various stages of an interaction.

Lastly, negotiation language is the benefits to clarify and to show the structure what we are

saying. Therefore, those elements are completely significant a speaking ability.

Furthermore, Harmer (2001: 104) states that the other element of the speaking is

mental/social processing except the language skill for the speaker, but the rapid processing

skill is also necessary, such as language processing, interaction, and information processing.

The language

processing is the effective speaker to convey their intention to someone else and they process

the words or retrieval of words or phrases from memory to communicate with people. It helps

the students to develop habits of rapid language processing English. Then, interaction is the

student interacting with the other and they understand each other. Lastly, information

processing is related to the perception of some else concerning the response to other feeling

in using the language. Consequently, the mental has important role to succeed the

communication particularly in speaking ability.

4. Principles of Teaching Speaking

Principles of teaching speaking are as follows (Harmer, 2001: 102)

a. Help students overcome their initial reluctance to speak. Be encouraging; provide

opportunity; start from something simple;

b. Ask students to talk about what they want to talk about.

c. Ask students to talk about what they are able to talk about.

d. Provide appropriate feedback.

e. Combine speaking with listening and reading.

f. Incorporate the teaching of speech acts in teaching speaking.

5. Method of Teaching Speaking

The method of teaching speaking as suggested by Harmer (1998:95) is Engage Activate-

Study. Engage means that the teacher gives warming to the students. For instance: the topic

of the discussion is about ‘daily activity,’ so, the teacher tells or gives stimuli to the students

concerning with the topic. Then, activate the teacher give an opportunity to the students to

express their ideas and opinions. Afterwards, study means that it concerns with the material

of the discussion. Therefore, the students can get the learning experience.

The other method of teaching speaking skill is through information gap activities that are

suggested by Raptou (2001: 211). Information gap is useful activity in which one person has

information that the other lacks. They must use the target language to share that information.

For instance, one student has the directions to a party and must give them to a classmate. One

type of speaking activity involves the so-called ‘information gap’-where two speakers have

different parts of information making up a whole. Because they have different information,

there is a ‘gap’ between them.

6. Classroom Speaking Activities

The activities of speaking class are as follows (Harmer, 2001:271-274).

a.       Acting from a script.

In this section the teacher asks the students to perform the play based on the dialogue in the

script. Thus, the teacher as the director and the students perform the dialogue.

b. Communication Games

A game is one of activities that can help students relaxed in learning the language. This

technique is particularly suitable for the children in mastering the language. It is designed to

provoke communication between students, so that the students has to talk to a partner in order

to solve a puzzle, draw a picture, puts the things in right order, and differences between

picture.

c.Discussion

The problem in conducting the discussion is the students’ reluctant to give opinion in front of

their friends. Particularly when the students are not mastering the topic of discussion.

Therefore to encourage the students is to provide activities which force the students in

expressing the ideas

through the topic which is familiar with student’s world. For instance, are: their daily activity,

the situation of their class, and describing.

d. Problem solving

The material is used in this technique giving the students to work in pairs or groups. They

share their problem, opinion and feeling. In this case the teacher as the bridge to

communicate among the participants. Then, the students give a question and answer each

other. This communication will help the students practicing and expressing their ideas in

spoken language.

e. Role Play

A popular way of the aspect of speaking activities is to use simulations and role plays. This

is where students pretend that they are in a different situation, either as themselves or playing

the role of someone is quite different. We could ask them to be guest at some parties and go

there

as different characters. They could, as themselves, pretend to be at an airport trying to check

luggage, or either as themselves or another character take part in a television program. In all

these cases the students are using language in order to participate in the activity rather than

other

way round! Some students find it very comfortable to use language in a simulated

environment, playing the role of someone else –it allows them to experiment freely to be

another people.

7. Problem in Speaking Skill

The learners have their own difficulties in learning the language. Particularly in improving

speaking skill is not easy for the students. The Following are the problems of speaking skill

(Munjayanah ,2004:17):

a.       Inhabitation

: unlike reading, writing or listening activities, speaking requires some degree of real-time

exposure to an audience. Learners are often inhibited about trying to say thing in foreign

language in the classroom: worried about mistakes or simply shy of the attention that their

speech attract.

b.      Nothing to say

. Even they are not inhibited, you often hear learners complain that they cannot think of

anything to say: they have no motive to express themselves beyond the guilty feeling that

they should be speaking.

c.       Low or uneven participation

. Only one participant can talk at a time if he or she is to be heard; and in large group this

means the each one will have only very little talking time. This problem is compounded

of some learners to dominate, while other speaks very little or not at all.

d.      Mother tongue use

. It is easier for the student to use their mother tongue in their class because it looks naturally.

Therefore, most of the students are not disciplined in using the target language in the learning

process.

B. Information Gap

Information gap is a useful activity in which one person has information that the other lacks.

They must use the target language to share that information. For instance, one student has the

directions to a party and must give them to a classmate. I teach core French at the secondary

level and students complain that when they go to a French-speaking part of the world, they

cannot say what they wish to say in French, even thought they have had years of French

education. We, therefore, need to actively engage students in speaking activities that are

enjoyable and that are based on a more communicative approach. One solution is using an

information gap activity that is suggested by Violet Raptou (2001: 213) One of the challenges

many second language-teachers face is motivating their students to speak in the target

language, confident students always participate and students who are less confident are

reluctant to speak.

Even when students speak in the target language, they are usually answering a question and

this approach greatly limits students output. Oral presentations provide opportunities for

students to speak in the target language for an extended period of time and these activities are

useful, but

they should not be the only opportunities students have to speak at length. Because students

prepare for this presentation by writing a script and then rehearsing it, they have difficulty

speaking in the target language spontaneously because they are given little opportunity to do

so. When students choose learn a language, they are interested in learning to speak that

language as fluently as possible. One solution is using information gap activities. In

information gap activity, one person has certain information that must be shared with others

in order to solve a problem, gather information or make decisions (Neu & Reeser, 1997).

These types of activities are

extremely effective in the L2 classroom. They give every student to opportunity to speak in

the target language for an extended period of time and students naturally produce more

speech than they would otherwise. In addition, speaking with peers is less intimidating than

presenting in front of the entire class and being evaluated. Another advantage of information

gap

activities is that students are forced to negotiate meaning because they must make what they

are saying comprehensible to others in order to accomplish the task (Neu & Reeeser, 1997:

156).

C. Conceptual Framework

Information gap is useful activity in which one person has information that the other lacks.

They must use the target language to share that information. For instance, one student has the

directions to a party and must give them to a classmate. With information gap give each

student has an opportunity to speak in the target language for an extended period of time and

students naturally produce more speech than they would otherwise and in this activity the

students must make what they are saying comprehensible to others. As a result, such a

technique can improve students’ speaking mastery.

D. Action Hypothesis

Dealing with the underlying theories, the action hypothesis of this research is: By giving

information gap technique, the students’ speaking mastery can be improved or better”.

E. Performance Indicator

The writer needs to establish some criteria in order to know whether the research is effective

or event not. The writer considers the research to be effec tive if the subjects of the study are

able to increase students’ achievement after being taught through information gap technique.

Here, the

subject is categorized as successful, if the students’ scores belong adequate level. While an

adequate level is titled to subject that is not only able to improve but also to convey, at least

the standard of performance which is 2.9. It means that teaching speaking using information

gap is

significant. It is line with the score as explained below:

CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHOD

A. Type of the Study

In this research, the writer uses classroom a ction research (CAR). Mc Niff (1992) in

Arikunto (2006:102) states that action research is a form of self-reflective inquiry undertaken

by participants in a social (including educational) situation in order to improve the rationality

and justice of their own social or educational practices as well as their understanding of these

practices and the situations in which these practices are carried out. It consists of planning,

acting/implementing, observing, and reflecting. Furthermore, Kasbolah (2001:15-17) states

that there are four characteristics of action research; firstly, the action research is carried out

by practitioners rather than outside rese archer. In this research, the classroom action research

was carried out by the researcher and English teacher as the collaborator. Secondly, action

research is the systematic study attempting to overcome real problems. In this research the

classroom

action research (CAR) was the attempts to overcome students’ problem in speaking mastery.

Thirdly, the action research is intended to change thing to be better than before. In this

research, the class action research (CAR) was intended to change the students’ ability in

speaking mastery to be better than before. Fourthly, action research is a kind of collaborative

research, it means that the research take participants in the form of a team consisting of

insider and outsiders. Then insiders were some teachers who want to do action research and

outsiders were the researchers in their field. In this research, the classroom action research

(CAR) was done by the writer and the English teacher.

B. Action Procedures

In this Classroom Action Research (CAR), the writer used the CAR principle to collect the

data. The research consist of three cycles with each cycle consist of four elements. The writer

describes the cycles through the scheme of action research steps and each of the phases can

be explained briefly as follows:

The cycle of Classroom Action Research (Hopkins, 1993: 52)

a. Planning

In this phase, the writer makes the lesson plan and then chooses teaching aids to imply the

information gap method. In this phase, the writer use dialogue, short paragraph, describe and

draw material.

b. Acting

The teacher puts the class into four groups, calling them A, B, C, D. To each group he gives

one of the pictures. The students in the groups have to memorize everything they can about

the

pictures-which’s in them, what’s happening etc. They can talk about the details in their

groups.

The teacher now takes the pictures and asks for one student from each group (A, B, C, and D)

to form a new four person group. He tells them that they have seen different picture but that

the

pictures taken together. The task is for the students to work out what the story is. The only

way they can do this is by describing their pictures to each other and speculating on how they

are

connected. The final stories may be different. The groups tell the whole class what their

version is, and the teacher can finally re- show the pictures.

c. Observing

In this phase, the writer observs the students response, participation and everything which is

found during the teaching and learning process.

In speaking learning process, most of the student are interested in information gap method.

Sometimes, from one group to other group do a mistake, like: misunderstanding, unability to

memorize the story.

d. Reflecting

After collecting the data, the writer will evaluate the teaching-learning process. Then, the

writer will reflect herself by seeing the result of the observation, whether the teaching

learning process of speaking using information gap method is good to imply in teaching

learning process at SMP N 3 KEBAKKRAMAT KARANGANYAR in 2007/2008 Academic

Year or not. If the first

plan is unsuccessful, the writer should make the next plan (re- planning) to get a good result.

During the process of the action research in the first class of SMP N 3 KEBAKKRAMAT

KARANGANYAR, the writer uses the diary and document as the instrument for gathering

the data. Diaries contain personal accounts of the observation on feeling, reaction,

interpretations, reflections, explanations and documents are used to provide information,

which is relevant to the problem under investigation. The documents used by the writer are

lesson plan and the sample of children’s work. Mc Cormick James (1983) in (Tilston,

2002:52) state that the successful document used is still photography in the collection on

information, particularly when evidence is being collected to evaluate lessons. So, the writer

includes the photography as the document too. Furthermore, Kasbolah (2001:15-17) states

that there are four characteristics of action research; firstly, the action research is carried out

by practitioners rather than outside researcher. In this research, the classroom action research

was carried out by the researcher and English

teacher as the collaborator. Secondly, action research is the systematic study attempting to

overcome real problems. In this research the classroom action research (CAR) was the

attempts to overcome students’ problem in speaking mastery. Thirdly, the action research is

intended to change thing to be better than before. In this research, the class action research

(CAR)\ was intended to change the students’ ability in speaking mastery to be better than

before. Fourthly, action research is a kind of collaborative research, it means that the research

take participants in the form of a team consisting of insider and outsiders. Then insiders were

some teachers who

want to do action research and outsiders were the researchers in their field. In this research,

the classroom action research (CAR) was done by the mwriter and the English teacher.

C. Research Location

This research takes place at SMP N 3 KEBAKRAMAT KARANGANYAR. The writer

chooses this place to do an action research because the writer sees it necessary to develop the

way in teaching particularly to develop the students’ speaking mastery in junior high school.

In teaching English at the second grade of SMP N 3 Kebakkramat Karanganyar, teacher

teaches the students traditionally. They let the students only memorize the vocabulary,

instead of using it and they don’t know about information gap. So, the researcher want to do

the research in this school.

D. Object of the Study

The object of the study is teaching speaking learning-process using information gap method

to the second grade of SMP N 3 KEBAKKRAMAT KARANGANYAR in 2007/2008

Academic Year.

E. Subject of the Study

The subject of the study is to the second grade students of SMP N 3 KEBAKKRAMAT

KARANGANYAR in 2007/2008 Academic Year. There are 40 students in class VIII a.

F. Method of Collecting Data

The method is a means that is used to solve problems. There are some methods of collecting

data. They are observation, interview and test. In this case the data are taken from the source

by employing observation and test.

1. Observation

The writer does the observation directly toward teaching speaking learning-process in SMP N

3 KEBAKKRAMAT KARANGANYAR 2008/2009 Academic Year. In this research, the

writer acts as an active observer. The writer interacts with the students as well as the teacher.

In speaking lesson, the writer observes their speaking skill, such as; their pronunciation,

vocabulary, memorizes and their brave in speaking lesson.

2. Test

According to Sudjana (1987:16) a test means some question to students to be answered. The

test is used to compare the students’ speaking achievements before conducting the research

(post-test) and after conducting the research (pre-test). The form of the test can be grouped

into three forms, namely: oral, written, and behavior form. In this research, the writer

conducts an oral test. The students make story depend on picture, what they do or everything

in the picture. Then,

they memorize the story and tell to their friend in front of class or other group.

3. Interview

One of the ways to get deep and more information in the classroom the writer will interview

the English teacher. In here, the researcher takes 10 samples of 40 students. What’s problem

of speaking, about speaking lesson during before and after using information gap method in

speaking lesson.

G. Data and Data Source

The data of this research are the procedure and the result of teaching speaking using

information gap. The result is in the form of the comparison between pretest and post-test

score. The sources of data in this study are:

1. Event

It is the teaching speaking using information gap in the second grade of SMP N 3

KEBAKKRAMAT KARANGANYAR.

2. Informant

The informant is the English teacher and students in SMP N 3 Kebakkramat Karanganyar.

3. Place

The researcher observes and teaches in the classroom of SMP N 3 Kebakkramat

Karanganyar.

H. Technique for Analyzing Data

The researcher conducts the action research of teaching speaking using information gap

technique at the second grade of SMP N 3 KEBAKKRAMAT KARANGANYAR. What

follows are steps in analyzing the data based on Miles and Huberman (1984: 170).

a. Reducting the data

This is the first component in analyzing the data that contains selection process, focusing, and

summarizing data from field notes. In this step, the researchers’ selects, limits, and

summarize the data from the implementation of teaching speaking using information gap

technique.

b. Displaying the data

The second step of analyzing the data is describing the data in narrative which the research

conclusion will be possible to be done. This step is describing the result of the research which

is described in systematic and logic sentence, therefore the result is understandable the form

of displaying is not always in the sentences, but can displayed in table form which supports

the narrative data.

c. Drawing Conclusion

The last step is the researcher makes conclusion of the research. Then the researcher also

verifies the conclusion the technique is by discussing the research conclusion with the

collaborator of the research. This step is very important to be done in order to get good

research conclusion.