THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THEME BASED TEACHING TO IMPROVE STUDENTS' SPEAKING SKILL - Lathufirdaush, Fitria (2013)
Penelitian ini memberikan penjelasan tentang implementasi pengajaran bahasa Inggris menggunakan Theme-Based Teaching untuk meningkatkan keterampilan berbicara pelajar muda. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengidentifikasi: (1) peningkatan keterampilan berbicara pelajar muda dari implementasi Theme-Based Teaching, dan (2) tantangan yang dihadapi oleh guru dalam mengajar keterampilan berbicara kepada pelajar muda menggunakan Theme-Based Teaching. Penelitian ini dilakukan dengan menggunakan desain penelitian tindakan kelas yang melibatkan 32 siswa dari kelas II sebuah Sekolah Dasar di Bandung. Penelitian ini dilakukan menggunakan dua siklus yang terdiri dari perencanaan, tindakan, observasi dan refleksi. Sedangkan data dari penelitian ini dikumpulkan melalui observasi, penilaian berbicara dan wawancara. Temuan menunjukkan bahwa ada peningkatan keterampilan berbicara siswa yang meliputi beberapa aspek, yaitu meliputi kosa kata , pengucapan dan tata bahasa. Selain itu, ditemukan pula bahwa ada beberapa tantangan dalam proses implementasi Theme-Based Teaching untuk mengajar berbicara. Tantangan tersebut dikategorikan berdasarkan karakteristik berdasarkan teori Pinter (2006), diantaranya pengabaian siswa, keegoisan siswa, rasa ingin tahu siswa dan hiperaktivitas siswa. Semua tantangan ini terjadi terutama dalam kegiatan awal dan kegiatan inti pada penelitian ini. Oleh karena itu, dianjurkan kepada guru yang akan mengimplementasikan Theme-Based Teaching untuk merencanakan kegiatan dan media dengan sangat hati-hati guna menghadapi tantangan dan membuat proses belajar mengajar lebih efektif Abstract This research gives an account on the implementation of Theme-Based Teaching to improve young learners' speaking skill. The aims of this research are to identify: (1) the improvement of young learners' speaking skill toward the implementation of Theme-Based Teaching; and (2) the challenges faced by the teacher in teaching speaking to young learners using Theme-Based Teaching. This research was conducted using classroom action research design which involved 32 students of a second grade of an Elementary school in Bandung. A two-repeated cycle was conducted in this research which consisted of planning, acting, observing and reflecting. Furthermore, the data of this research were gathered through observations, speaking assessments and interview. The findings reveal that there was improvement of the students' speaking skill which covered some aspects, including vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar. It was also found that there were some challenges in the process of implementing Theme-Based Teaching to teach speaking. Those challenges were categorized based on young learners' characteristics suggested by Pinter (2006), including students' ignorance, students' selfishness, students' curiosity and students' hyperactivity. All of these challenges occurred mostly in the pre and main activities of this research. Thus, it is recommended for teachers to plan the activities and media very carefully before implementing Theme-Based Teaching in order to deal with the challenges and make the process of teaching and learning more effective. Keywords: young learners, elementary school, speaking skill, Theme-Based Teaching