Improving the Eighth Grade Students’ Writing Skill at SMP KH Hasyim Asy’ari Malang through Paragraph Mapping

By Aisah Rumf

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

            This introductory chapter presents the background of the study, statement of problems, objectives of the study, scope and limitation of the study, significance of the study, and definition of key terms

1.1.  Background of the Study

             After the end of the Second World War in 1945, many people wanted to learn English not for the pleasure or prestige of knowledge, but because English was the key to the international currencies of technology and commerce (Hutchinson & Waters:1999). And today English has a big role in educational field, medicine, economy and many others.

            English related to educational, Saukah (2000:16) argued that the objective of teaching English in Indonesia is to enable students to use English for communication. Then that is why the basic aim of language teaching is to develop communicative competence. It means that to help students recognize and produce language, which is not only correct in term of linguistic feature but also appropriate in social situation in which it is being used. The communicative competence includes four skills they are: Listening, speaking, reading and writing. Among the fourth skill based on writer’s observation at the eighth grade students of SMP KH.HasyimAsy’ari, writing is considered the most complicated one for the students to master. They were still making errors when they started to write simple essay paragraph, such as descriptive, narrative  and recount paragraph that are, they still confused how to write a good paragraph that involve topic sentence, supporting sentences, and concluding sentence. This problem occurred because of the influencing of their mother language and their own behavior, how far they activate to write English paragraph. Therefore, the writer wants to use paragraph mapping technique to improve their writing skill and to develop their activeness and happiness even their preference in learning English.

1.2. Statement of Problems

Based on the description above, the writer formulates the problems of the study as follows:

1.      How can the paragraph mapping technique improve the eighth grade students’ writing skill at SMP KH.HasyimAsy’ari Malang?

2.      How can the paragraph mapping technique increase the eighth grade students’ activeness in writing English?

1.3. Objectives of the study

Referring to the statement of these study problems above, the objectives of the study are:

1.      To describe how paragraph mapping technique can improve the eighth grade students’ writing skill at SMP KH. HasyimAsy’ari

2.      To describe how paragraph mapping technique can increase the eighth grade students’ activeness in writing English.

  

1.4.      Scope and Limitation

1.4.1. Scope

The researcher will direct to certain setting of teaching and learning writing skill on the eighth grade students at SMP Hasyim Asy’ari Malang by using technique of paragraph mapping.

1.4.2. Limitation

The researcher will conduct the research when the practice teaching begins in the end of January 2012. The researcher realizes that the time is just one a half month to take practice teaching, but the writer can insure that it will be enough to cover the teaching learning-activity.

1.5.       Significant of study

The researcher hopes that this study will be useful as practical. The eighth grade students at SMP KH. HasyimAsy’ari Malang and the writer as a teacher even for everyone who are involved can apply the paragraph mapping technique in teaching and learning especially English writing skill. As practical, all people involved in learning English can apply this paragraph mapping technique when they write narrative, descriptive, recount and the other paragraphs.

1.6.      Definition of Key Terms

Improving:     It means that increasing students’ English writing skill by using       paragraph mapping technique so that they can write paragraph well         and get higher score than before.

Writing:          One of the English basic skills that the students must have, and this            skill is an activity of producing words on a surface.

Skill:               the students’ ability in four English basic such as writing, speaking, listening, and reading.

According to Cambridge School Dictionary, skill is having abilities needed to do an activity or job well.

Paragraph Mapping Technique:    

One way to teach the students, it can be called a method that the teacher uses to explain how to write a paragraph well.