Selasa, 19 Mei 2009

DEVELOPING ENGLISH LEARNING METHODE

THE ROLE OF THE NATURAL RECREATIONAL OBJECT TOWARD THE ABILITY TO WRITE SHORT COMPOSITION

Author

FAKHRURRASYID

Fakhrurrasyid is an English teacher of SMP Neg.1 Bungoro Pangkep. He has been teaching English at different level for over eleven years. His research interest include developing writing skill.

Abstract

The natural recreational objects is one of strategy that the writer put forward to develop the ability of students to write short composition. Related to that strategy the writer want to know whether or not the natural recreational object strategy is effective for the students in increasing their ability to write short composition.

To answer the problem statements which are relevant to objectives of the research, the writer applied experimental method. He collected data by using writing test. The data collected through writing test were firstly tabulated and then analyzed in percentage. The researcher take 30 students of III Bahasa of SMU 1 Pangkep as the sample of this research.

The conclusion is that natural recreational object effective to use for the students to increase their ability to write short composition.

Keywords : Natural Recreational Object, Short Composition.

Introduction

Writing is one of the four language skills, deals with production or reproduction. Production or reproduction is the process of the memory by which previously known objects are recalled to consciousness. The occurrence in consciousness of a group of sensations considered as having already been present in experience or perception. It is also a reaction which repeats in similar or associated form of any previous reaction, perception, or other remembered experience.

The writing of composition is a kind of students’ task. The task inquiries the students to manipulate words in correct grammatical sentences. Those sentences are linked to form a piece of continuous writing. It successfully communicates the writer’s thought and ideas on a certain topic.

Natural recreational object is an object that can be used as a topic to write short composition by students because they are familiar with it. If the students see, feel or touch the object, they can keep it in their mind longer and then transfer it onto a paper.

Nurzaitun (1996) states that one reason for learning to write is to transmit ideas to other people, especially to those who are at a distance in time and space. Another reason for learning to write well is that writing process can help us sort out and organize random thought, clarify what we really think and to develop our ideas.

To write composition of different versions, students are usually hindered by factors such as limited vocabulary, the uninteresting topics given, the interest of students in learning writing, the time to teach writing or unsuitable techniques. Among those factors, topics and techniques are important factors that should be given special attention because by providing good writing topics and techniques, the students can improve their ability to organize their ideas into good writing.

Writing is an open process of discovery. To make the writing excited, some preparation should be done. It consists of preparing the students in the prewriting period, analyzing the writing task, gathering materials, thinking and planning. All the parts of the preparation comes together to make something new.

The result of this research is expected to be worthwhile information for the English Teachers in increasing their teaching quality and for the students as a devise for increasing their ability to write short composition.

A. Natural Recreational Objects

Winston (1930) gives explanation about word “natural objects” that natural is anything that produced by nature while objects is anything that can be perceived by the sense or anything that can be seen or touched. So natural recreational object is the place for recreation that produced by nature and can be perceived by the sense.

Detheer (1984) states that if we want to write, the most basic in writing is the world around us. There are endless subject in the people and things around us. We just have to open ourselves up to them and start thinking for writing.

B. The Concept of Writing

Writing is a complex process. It involved generating and developing ideas, analyzing meanings, and making many decisions about contents, form, organization, and style. Although the process may very somewhat from one writer to others, it typically includes the following stages: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and rewriting.

a. Prewriting.

Before we write, we need to determine what to write, we should have something meaningful to convey. If we have determined what we will write about, we usually need an incubation period in which to mull it over, organize our thinking and perhaps generate more ideas or collect more information.

b. Drafting

In this section we begin to feel ready to write. How long it takes to move ideas to the paper depends on the individual and nature of the writing project. Readiness to begin writing does not necessarily mean that the composition is completely shaped, either in our head or on notepaper.

c. Revising

The task of this stage is to make certain the piece conveys to readers what we want to tell them. Revising is a time for determining whether the content is well organized and clear.

Bram (1995: 68) states that when revising our own writing work, we might need to present that we are revising someone else’s work. In this process, we try to make certain that the readers can understand our message. We should check whether the logic of our ideas is presented smoothly.

d. Editing

We are ready to edit it for technical and mechanical accuracy in preparation for making the final copy. It involves analyzing the adequacy of paragraph structure. In addition, editing should make the writing product solid, clear, and appropriate.

e. Rewriting

Norton (1980: 294) defines the rewriting connected with composition in this way, rewriting is not just recopying neatly, minus a few punctuation errors. It is not just fixing what is wrong. Rewriting is finding the best way to give your newly discovered ideas to others; it is a finishing, a polishing up, and it should be creative and satisfying as any job well done.

C. Types of Composition

There are four types of composition namely; expository composition, descriptive composition, narrative composition, and argumentative composition.

a. Expository Composition

Expository composition is a kind of composition that explains the subject. It can also be used to explain the essence of anything; how it works, how the element connected with other things. In this composition we effort to introduce something by giving information.

b. Descriptive Composition

The function of descriptive composition is to make the reader as if see the object directly from the material that the writer has written. This kind of composition gives more emphasize to the shape of the object by giving or explaining the unique small part of the object.

c. Narrative Composition

This composition relates to the presentation of any cases in our complete composition. The main problem or it is action in relating one case that written into story. Basically, every person has ability in talking anything. Therefore narration can be considered as a basement of any kinds of composition.

d. Argumentative Composition

Argumentative composition is a composition that explains or makes sure the reason, sample, evidence, so the reader influenced and supported by the ideas, opinions, attitude and the belief of the writer. And the end the reader acts as what the writer needs.

D. Parts of Composition

All composition has in common three major parts; they are introduction, discussion, and conclusion. The first part of the composition is introduction. It is usually quite brief. It may consist simply of the thesis sentence, or it may contain additional sentence.

The second part of composition, the discussion, is the main part. In short composition, for example, the discussion normally consumes the three longest paragraphs. The proportion is similar in longer composition, the discussion part being three fifth to four fifth of the total composition.

The third part of composition is the conclusion. In short composition the conclusion, is brief, in two or three sentences. It may summarize the subject or main purpose of the composition and give emphasis to it with a final statement of special impact or importance. The composition should not end abruptly nor should it fade away. The end should come naturally, the main purpose completed, the final statement made.

E. The Component of Writing

The quality of students writing is determined by a quality rating using the composition profile (Rahman: 1990). This profile include five dimensions of a piece of writing, namely: 1) content 2) organization 3) vocabulary 4) language use 5) mechanic.

a. Content

There are at least four things that can be measured in connection with content, the composition should contains one central purpose only, should have unity, should have coherence and continuity, should be adequately developed (Sullivan: 1976).

  1. The composition should contain one central purpose only. Like a small portrait, the composition, the composition should be limited to one part of a subject although the subject is probably much longer than the single aspect discussed in the composition.
  2. The composition should have unity. Unity means that the composition should be of one piece a distinct unit that has one functional purpose
  3. The composition should have coherence and continuity. These terms are closely – related. Coherence means that the parts of the composition should be logically connected. Continuity means that the connection of the parts should be smooth. To make comparison, a coherence composition is like a motor that is properly assembled; with all parts in the right places, the motor can run. Continuity is like al oil that lubricates the operation making it smooth and preventing the motor from burning out.
  4. The composition should be adequately developed. It should do fully what is a set out to do. It should not leave the job half done. The degree of development depends upon the aim or purpose of the composition.

b. Organization

One composition can be told as an organize composition if the words, sentences, and paragraph line up easily form a clear patterns. Sullivan (1976: 100) states four ways in organizing composition, namely: 1) getting the correct order 2) keeping a balance 3) providing signal 4) paving the way.

  1. Getting the correct order. The correct order depends on the purposes of the composition. If the purpose is to narrate or tell a story, the correct order should be chronological. In other word, we should tell what happened first second, third, and so on. If the purpose of the composition is to explain something, the correct order might be cause and effect or vice verse. If the purpose is to urge for or against something, the correct order is a matter what is logical, etc.
  2. 2. Keeping a balance. Because no composition can fully describe anything or anyone, the limits of the composition are set in the introduction, but the composition must be sure to live up to those limits. A balance must be achieved and that balance depends on the purpose that we state is thesis sentence of introduction.
  3. Providing signal. We should provide signal to the reader at all important points in our composition, particularly at major turning points. These signals like road sign to motorist should help to keep the reader moving in the right direction in following our thought in the composition.
  4. Paving the way. Reading the composition should not be an unpleasant experience for the reader. In addition to providing him with signal along the way, we should pave the way for him. Our word choice, our sentence structure, the organization of our paragraph should all be smooth and readable.

c. Vocabulary

Good writing always depends on the effecting use of word. Adelstain (1980: 123) states in scientific and technical writing, language should be exact and precise, selected to convey specific meaning, design to communicative information, not feeling.

Bram (1995) states that the kind of word that should we use in writing are: action verbs (not linking verbs) concrete words (not abstract words), and specific words (not general ones).

d. Language Use

Language use in writing short composition and other form of writing involves correct usage and point of grammar. An Adequate grammar should be one that is capable of producing grammatical sentences and ruling out ungrammatical ones. But beyond this, a grammatical should be able to produce or to project all of the grammatical sentences possible in a language

e. Mechanics

Here there are at least two main parts of mechanic in writing, namely: punctuation and capitalization.

The first part of mechanic is punctuation. Norton (1980) states that punctuation is important because it clarifies meaning. The second part is capitalization. Capitalization is another signal that clarifies meaning. We expect the writer to signal the beginning of a sentence with a capital letter and the end of a sentence with a period, question mark, or exclamation mark. We also expect the writer to signal important titles and names by capitalization. If the writer capitalize Northeast, we know that he is referring to specific section of the country; if does not capitalize northeast, we know the reference is to a direction.

Both punctuation and capitalization clarify written communication for the reader. We know need to understand why mechanical skills are necessary, but they must also be aware that writing is primarily concerned with the development of content and idea. Norton (1980) states that mechanical skills in writing are important. It must not be stressed to the point where they make a student lost his interest in writing or stifle his creative instinct. Nor must they be neglected to the extent that the student becomes careless in his written word.

F. Characteristic of Written Language

Brown (1994) states seven characteristics of written language, namely: 1) permanence 2) production time 3) distance 4) orthography 5) complexity 6) vocabulary 7) formality.

Permanence

Permanence is one something written down and delivered in its final form to its intended audience, we need to abdicate a certain power: power to emend, to clarify, and to withdraw.

Production Time

We can indeed become a good writer by developing efficient processes for achieving the final product if the appropriate stretches of time give. Many educational contexts demand student writing within time limits, or writing for display. Therefore with sufficient training in process writing, combined with practice in displaying writing, we can help ourselves and other to deal with time limitations.

Distance

One of the thorniest problem writers face anticipating their audience. That anticipation range from general audience characteristics to how specific words phrases sentences, and paragraphs are going to be interpreted. The distance factor requires what we have called cognitive empathy, in that good writer can read their own writing from the perspective of the mind of targeted audience. Writers need to be able to predict the audience’s general knowledge, and very importantly, how their of language will be interpreted.

Orthography

Orthography in the art of spelling or the standard method of grouping letters to form words. Everything from simple greetings to extremely complex ideas are captured through the manipulation of a few dozen letters and other written symbols. Sometimes we take from granted the mastering the mechanics of English writing by the students. If students are not literate in the native language, we must begin at the very beginning with fundamentals of reading and writing.

Complexity

To overcome the complexity of writing, writers must learn how to remove redundancy (which may not jibe with their first language rhetorical tradition), how to combine sentences, how to make references to other elements in a text, how to create syntactic and lexical variety, and much more.

Vocabulary

As what the writer has explain before that vocabulary is very important, if we want to make a good writing we have to use effective words. We can not speak and write more if we don’t master the vocabulary

7. Formality

Whether a students is filling out a questionnaire or writing s full-blown essay, the conventions of each form must be followed. For ESL students the most difficult an complex convention occur in academic writing where students have to learn how to describe, explain, compare, contrast, illustrate, defend, criticize, and urge.

Research Method

1. Research Design

This research employs descriptive method with the intact group single control design. The representation for this design in as follows:

G1 (intact) – O – X

Where: G1 = The students of III Bahasa

   O = Object / test

   X = the test result 

2. Variable

a. Independent Variable

The independent variable of this research is teaching technique using natural recreational objects. The researcher applied this teaching to seek the more effective technique to measure the ability of the students.

b. Dependent Variable

The dependent variable of this research is students’ ability to write short composition.

In collecting data, the researcher used writing test as an instrument, where the students were assigned to write descriptive composition of three paragraphs based on Leangkassi Natural Recreational Object. The main ideas of the three paragraphs are:

a. Place for recreation

b. For irrigation

c. For supplying drinking water.

In collecting data the researcher followed these steps below:

  1. The researcher explained about the writing of short composition to the students.
  2. The students were asked to search for an object and then asked them to write composition based on what they have searched.

The data collected through the test were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. In the qualitative analysis the researcher analyzed the data from the test that supported the findings of the quantitative analysis, while in the quantitative analysis he employed statistical calculation.

The step undertaken in the qualitative analysis were as follow:

  1. Scoring the students’ writing by seeing the five component of writing composition, as stated below: content, organization, vocabulary, language use, and mechanics
  2. Scoring the all components of writing by using the following scoring scale:

Classification

Score
Very Good 42 - 50
Good 33 - 41
Everage 24 - 32
Poor 15 - 23
Vey Poor 5 - 14

     3. Tabulating the score of the students’ writing.

     4. Calculating the score by using following formula:

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Where: X = mean score, å X = total of raw score, N = the number of respondent (Hatch, 1991)

     5. Finding out the percentage of the writing score by the help of the following formula:

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Where: F = commulative frequency, N = the total number of respondent (Hatch, 1991).

The discussion of the data analysis is divided into two parts. The first is the discussion of the data analysis obtained through the composition test which intends to describe the ability of the students in general to write short composition. The second is the discussion on the five qualities of a short composition.

1. The ability of the students to write short composition

By observing the data we find out that some students got average (46.7%). Few of them (33.3%) got poor and the rest (20%) got good classification. It means that more of the students have sufficient ability to write short composition. It is supported by the total mean score of the students obtained through the test which was 26.87% (27) it is classified as average.

Based on the percentage and mean scores, we can conclude that the third grade students of SMU 1 Pangkep have sufficient ability to write short composition that possesses content, organization, vocabulary, language use and mechanic.

2. Discussion on the five qualities of good composition.

a. Content

By observing the data of content, we find out that the ability of the students to write short composition possesses content are sufficient. It is proved by the data that many students (50%) that is classified as average and some of them (40%) that is classified as good. It indicates that the students have sufficient ability (90%) to write short composition possesses content.

b. Organization

After analyzing the data of organization quality, the students have sufficient ability to write short composition possesses organization quality. It is proved by the data that 33.3% students that is classified as good and 43.3% that is classified as average.

c. Vocabulary

Observing the data of vocabulary we find out that many students got average (53.3%). Few of them (33.3%) got good. It indicates that the students have sufficient ability (86.6%) to write short composition possesses vocabulary.

d. Language use

The ability to write short composition of the students possesses language use are sufficient. It is proved by the data that some students (43.3%) that is classified as average and few of them (10%) that is classified as good. It indicates that the students have sufficient ability (53.3%) to write short composition possesses language use.

e. Mechanic

By seeing the data, the ability to write short composition of students possesses mechanic quality are sufficient. It is supported by the data that many students (53.3%) that is classified as poor. It indicates that the students have insufficient ability to write short composition possesses mechanic quality.

f. The five qualities of short composition

Some students (46.7%) that is classified as average. Few of them (20%) that is classified as good. It indicates that the students have sufficient ability (66.7%) to write short composition possesses five qualities.

Conclusion

Considering the result of the data analysis the writer conclude that:

  1. Natural recreational objects, searching them directly, the students could write composition well. It is proofed by the data that most of the five components of writing, some students got average. So the students writing is not bed.
  2. Natural recreational objects strategy is effective for the students to increase their ability to write short composition.

Suggestion

Based on the result of the data analysis of the research, the writer puts forward some suggestion:

  1. The natural recreational objects is good to use as a device for writing short composition.
  2. The teacher of English should teach more about the grammar in teaching writing because most students could not differentiate the use of tenses in their composition.
  3. The teacher of English should teach more about mechanics in teaching writing because some students are still lack in mechanics especially the capitalization and punctuation like the use of comma, period, and quotation marks.
  4. The learners of English should practice to write short composition by using natural recreational objects for increasing their ability to write.

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