Improving Speaking Skill of Senior High School Students Through The Direct Method (A Classroom Action Research on The Eleventh Grade of SMA Islam 1 Surakarta in The 2009/2010 Academic Year)

Oleh :
Anindhiasti Ayu Kusuma Asri - X2206029 - Sekolah Pascasarjana

The eleventh grade students of SMA Islam 1 Surakarta have difficulties in mastering speaking skill. There are some reasons why it happens. First, the students often feel confused on applying the rules, such as: grammar and pronunciation. They also lack of vocabulary. That is why the students feel not easy to try to speak in English. Second, the teaching learning activities given are not acceptable for the students in their English level. Thus, this thesis is written to find out whether the Direct Method can improve students’ English speaking skill. The method used in this research is collaborative action research between the senior high school English Teacher (Teacher W) and the researcher. The research was conducted in two cycles from 6 ii th May to 26 May. The research data were collected by using techniques of qualitative and quantitative data collection which include: observation, interview, research diary and the pre-test and post-test. Photographs were also taken during the implementation of the research to provide more accurate data. The qualitative data were analyzed through re-reading and describing the research diary, pre-research observation report, and field notes. The quantitative data were analyzed by comparing the mean score of the pre-test, post-test 1 and post-test 2. The Direct Method is used as the teaching method. It is chosen because of its benefits: giving students’ chances to understand grammar based on the mistakes they make, giving the students new vocabulary, and giving opportunity for the students to speak more in English. The result of this research shows that the Direct Method as the teaching method could help solving the students’ difficulties in improving speaking skill. The improvement includes: 1) The students were able to speak with better grammar and pronunciation, 2) The students had more vocabulary, 3) The students spoke with less pauses and fillers, and 4) The students tended to be more active during the lesson. There were 25 students in XI-science (XI-A) class. Before the students were given the treatment, from the accuracy test, the students who got score one were 15 students, and the students who got score two were 10 students. From the fluency test: the students who got score one were 15 students, the students who got score two were 10 students. After they were given the treatment, from the accuracy test, the students who got score one are 7 students, and the students who got score two are 17 students, and the student got score three is 1 student. From the fluency test: the students who got score one are 4 students, the students who got score two are 15 students, and the students got score three are 6 students. From the pre-test the students’ mean score is 3.08 while from the final post test the students’ mean score is 3.76.