Improving students’ speaking skill by using picture series (a classroom action research conducted at the tenth grade of sma negeri 6 surakarta in the academic year of 2012/ 2013)

Oleh :
Reny Windihastuti - K2209073 - Fak. KIP

This research was conducted to know whether picture series can improve students’ speaking skill. It also aimed at describing the classroom situation when picture series was implemented in speaking class. The problems can be identified as follows the students’ English speaking skill was still low, the students were passive and reluctant to speak English, and there was a tendency of the students to be afraid of making mistakes. Related to these problems, the researcher conducted a classroom action research by using picture series in teaching learning process. The method used in this research was a collaborative action research method. The research was conducted in two cycles at the tenth grade of SMA Negeri 6 Surakarta from January- April 2013. In collecting the data, the researcher used observation, interview, photograph, and test (pre-test and post-test). The technique of analyzing qualitative data used five steps by McKernan in Burns (1999: 156- 160). Those were assembling the data, coding the data, comparing the data, building interpretations, and reporting the outcomes. Meanwhile the quantitative data were analyzed by comparing the mean scores of the pre-test and post-test. The research findings show that the use of picture series combined with drilling technique and teacher’s explanation could improve the students’ speaking skill in telling a story (narrative text) and the classroom situation of speaking class. The research findings on speaking skill includes: 1) the use of picture series enriched students’ vocabulary; 2) the use of picture series combined with drilling technique stimulated students’ pronunciation; 3) the use of picture series in the teacher’s explanation stimulated students’ understanding of grammar; 4) the use of picture series improved students’ fluency. The improvement of classroom situation includes: a) the class was more alive because the students participated actively during the speaking class; b) the students were motivated to speak English; c) the students paid good attention to the teacher’s explanation. Key words: picture series, speaking skill.