SONGS TO IMPROVE THE STUDENTS ACHIEVEMENT IN PRONOUNCING ENGLISH WORDS (An Action Research of the Year Seventh Students of MTs ANNUR Jepara in the Academic Year 2006 / 2007)a Final Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Pendidikan in English

by Henny Ratnasari 2201903005

LANGUAGES AND ARTS FACULTY SEMARANG STATE UNIVERSITY 2007

A good book is a great friend.

To my beloved parents

i

ACKNOWLEDGMENT First of all, the writer thanks God, Allah SWT,, for his blessing and his guidance, so that the writer could finish this thesis, which is written to fulfill one of the requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Pendidikan in English at Semarang State University. The writer realizes that this thesis could not be finished without the help and support of other people who have sacrificed their valuable time in giving advice to complete this thesis. On this occasion, the writer would like to express her gratitude to: 1. Drs. Abdurrrachman Faridi, M.Pd., my first advisor, who has led and provided invaluable and continuous guidance, advice, as well as encouragement in making and completing this thesis. 2. Intan Permata Hapsari, S.Pd, M.Pd., my second advisor, who has read this thesis carefully and given many useful suggestions and corrections for its improvement. 3. All lecturers in English Department of UNNES who had been teaching and sharing their knowledge since I began my study at UNNES. 4. My parents, sisters, brother and all friends who have given support to finish my study. Finally, the writer realizes that this final project is still far from being perfect. Thus she would like to expect any suggestions for the improvement of it. She hopes that it would be useful for the readers. Semarang, The Writer 2007

ii

ABSTRACT Henny Ratnasari. 2007. Songs to Improve the Students Achievement in Pronouncing English Words ( An Action Research of the Year Seventh Students of MTs ANNUR Jepara in the Academic Year 2006 / 2007 ). Final Project. English Educational Program. Bachelors Degree, Semarang State University. Supervisors I: Drs. Abdurrachman Faridi, M.Pd., II: Intan Permata Hapsari, S.Pd., M.Pd. Keywords: Songs, Pronunciation, Improvement. The objective of this study is to describe how songs influence the students achievement in pronouncing English words. In constructing this study, the writer collected data from the classroom action research, which was carried out through five activities. The activities were begun from selecting focus, collecting data, analyzing and interpreting the data, taking action and find out the students reflection. The subjects of this study were 30 students of year seventh of MTs ANNUR in the academic year 2006/2007. In doing this study, the writer used an oral test method or sound of production. The action was done through teaching learning process. All of the teaching learning process were presented by the help of songs. Those songs were implemented in teaching listening for Building Knowledge of the Field (BKOF) of descriptive text. The data analysis of this study was descriptive qualitative and a bit of quantitative measurement to find the mean. Based on the data analysis from each activity, it can be seen that there is a significant difference of the students achievement in the pretest and posttest. The students achievement in the posttest is higher than that of the pretest. After the treatment by using songs in each cycle, the students achievement in pronouncing English words improved. This improvement is caused by the students interest of the songs given and the relevance between vocabularies that are presented in the songs used in this action research and the vocabulary that the students have already got, but they still get difficulties in pronouncing them. Based on this study, it is found that the use of songs in teaching English is effective to improve the students pronunciation and very beneficial for the students in order to facilitate them in learning English. Based on this finding, it is suggested that songs in teaching English can be recommended for the English teachers. To get a wider generalization, research of similar kind should be done with different subjects.

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. ii ABSTRACTiii TABLE OF CONTENTSiv LIST OF TABLES ......vii LIST OF APPENDICES..viii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Background of the Study.1 Reasons for Choosing the Topic......3 Statement of the Problems...5 Objective of the Study.5 Significance of the Study.5 Outline of the Thesis....5

II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 2.1 Characteristics of Junior High School Students...7 2.2 Song as a Teaching Media..9

2.2.1 Definition of a Song....10 2.2.2 Elements of Songs.......11 2.2.3 Selection of the Songs.........12 2.2.4 Procedure in Applying the Songs....13

2.3

Teaching Pronunciations.......14

2.3.1 Elements of Pronunciation........16 2.3.1.1 Segmental Features.16 2.3.1.2 Supra segmental Features17 2.4 2.5 2.6 Students Problems in Pronouncing English Words......18 Songs to Improve Achievement in Pronunciation.....19 Action Research.22

III METHOD OF INVESTIGATION 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Data Collection..26 Population and Sample..28 Research Instrument..28 Validity of the Test.. 31 Action Plan....31 Method of Data Analysis......34

IV DATA ANALYSIS 4.1 Analysis of Pretest .....38 4.2 Analysis of the Teaching Learning Activities.....40 4.2.1 Analysis of the First Activities.........41 4.2.2 Analysis of the Second Activities.........42 4.2.3 Analysis of the Third Activities..........42 4.3 Analysis of Posttest....43 4.4 Analysis of the Questionnaires.......45 4.4.1 Grading the Items of the Questionnaires..45

4.4.2 Determining the Grade Score...46 4.4.3 Tabulating the Data of Questionnaires.....47 4.4.4 Finding the Mean......47 4.4.5 Matching the Mean to a Criterion........47 4.4.6 Concluding the Questionnaires Result.....48 4.5 Effectiveness of Songs to Improve the Students Pronunciation..49 V CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION 5.1 5.2 Conclusion51 Suggestion52

BIBLIOGRAPHY.....53 APPENDICES...55

LIST OF TABLES

Table 4.1 Students Pronunciation Achievement on Pretest. 4.2 Students Pronunciation Achievement on Pretest.. 4.3 Score Per Item of the Questionnaires ... 4.4 Classification of Graded Scores.. . 4.5 Category of the Criterion..

page 39 44 46 46 48

LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix

Page

1 List of the Words.. 55 2 Song Lyric: Mother How Are You Today.. .. 56 3 Song Lyric: Old Mc Donald Had A Farm... 4 Song Lyric: My Garden.. 5 Tabulating Data of Questionnaires.. 57 58 59

6 Questionnaires....... 60 7 Analysis of Students Pronunciation Achievement on Pretest.... 61 8 Analysis of Students Pronunciation Achievement on Posttest.. 64

1

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study Language is a very important means of communication in daily human life. Human being uses language both in written and spoken forms to express their idea. As stated by Ramelan (1992: 10), language is an arbitrary system of speech sounds which is used in interpersonal communication by an aggregation of human beings, and which rather exhaustively catalogs thing, process, and events in the human environments. English has become an international language. People of different countries speak English to communicate. English is a key, which opens the door to scientific and technological knowledge. The Indonesian government has chosen English as the first foreign language to be taught in the schools. English becomes one of compulsory subjects from Junior High School up to University. Therefore, the government provides a curriculum as the guidance of English teacher in teaching-learning process. In the English curriculum 2006, the learning activities involve listening, speaking, reading and writing. The four skills are taught cohesively. Although it is focused on the four skills, pronunciation is not separately taught from the four skills.

2

It is difficult for Indonesian students to pronounce English words correctly, for example when they are asked to pronounce the word umbrella / mbrel / they will pronounce /umbrella /. It is because of the differences between their mother tongue and the English. The degree of difficulty in learning is also determined by the degree of difference between the two languages. The greater similarity between them, the less difficult it will be for the students to learn the foreign language (Ramelan,1985:5). Pronunciation is one of the most important parts of English to communicate with others since there are differences between the symbol and its sounds. When we communicate with other people we should not only have a good vocabulary but also have good pronunciation. Therefore, it is important to teach pronunciation. As stated by Harmer ( 2000: 183 ) that for all these people, being made aware of pronunciation issues will be of immense benefit not only to their own production but also to their own understanding of spoken English. The students often find problem with pronunciation when they speak, read, or listen to English words. It might be caused by some factors. Learning English is very complex since there are many factors that determine the success or failure of learners in language learning. There are two kinds of factors, which affect someone in learning English: internal and external factors come from the learners themselves, such as motivation, interest, aptitude, and intelligence, while external factors come from outside of the learners, such as the situation and condition of

3

the environment, learning materials, and the teachers ability in handling the English teaching and learning program. Therefore, the teachers should have several special tricks to make their students motivated to learn English. The learners need a way of teaching that is enjoyable and practical so that finally they can integrate themselves into English, for example singing English songs can get the students integrated to English. It is assumed that they can contribute many things to improve students capabilities, especially in their skill elements, such as vocabulary enrichment, listening and speaking. Singing English song is believed to have direct influence on the pronunciation skills. This thesis tries to find out whether songs can improve achievement in pronunciation.

1.2 Reason for Choosing the Topic To teach language skill, it is not enough for a teacher just to give an explanation to his / her students, but it is necessary for them to be brought in an experience in practicing the language in a real situation. Therefore the teacher needs a way of teaching that is enjoyable and practical so that finally they can integrate into English. There are some ways in the language learning, for example, using picture to teach vocabulary and games to teach grammar. In doing this study, the writer uses songs as the media to improve the students achievement in pronouncing English words.

4

Song is a kind of poet sung with music accompaniment. Most people like songs. It is believed that songs are like magic. People can cry, laugh, be sad or be angry only by listening to songs. From songs, they can also learn a lot of things such as culture and new words. Based on the reasons above, the writer believes that songs can be used as an alternative way in the language learning. In the curriculum 2006, the English learning activities involve listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Most students get difficulties when they have listening classes. It is difficult for them to memorize and comprehend what they listen to. Therefore, it is better for the teacher to teach the students with something interesting and valuable in the listening class. The writer thinks that song is a valuable material because by listening to songs, students can learn vocabulary, pronunciation, expression, and so on. However, the teacher cannot bring all songs into the class. She/ he should be able to select appropriate songs for the students. She/ he should think about the level of the students, the theme, and the students interest of the songs. Based on the explanation above the writer wants to show to English teachers that there are actually many ways of English teaching, which are useful as the alternative treatments for the students problem in teaching pronunciation. She hopes that it will be a valuable contribution to the development of English teaching in general and teaching pronunciation in particular. Gross errors of pronunciation seriously distract attention in the communication.

5

1.3 Statement of the Problems In order to make a systematic approach in solving the problems, the statement of the problem is: are songs effective to improve the students achievement in pronouncing English words?

1.4 Objective of the Study In line with the statement of the problems, the objective of the study is to find out whether songs are effective to improve the students achievement in pronouncing English words

1.5 Significance of the Study This study is expected to have a significant contribution in quality improvement of the language teaching. In particular, it is expected to be a very useful input for foreign language teachers in teaching pronunciation. It is also hoped that the result of study can help the students to find alternative ways to improve their pronunciation quality.

1.6 Outline of the Report In order that this study is easy to follow, it is organized within the five chapters as follow. Chapter I deals with the Introduction. This includes Background of the Study, Reasons for Choosing the Topic, Objective of the Study, Statement of the Problem, Significance of the Study, Outline of the Thesis.

6

Chapter II includes Review of the Literature Related to The Characteristics of Junior High School Students, Songs as a Teaching Media, The Definition of a Song, The Elements of Songs, Songs in the Language Learning, Teaching Pronunciation, The Elements of Pronunciation, Students Problems in Pronouncing English Words and Songs to Improve Achievement in Pronunciation. Chapter III presents Data Collection, Population and Sample, The Instrument of the Research,Validity, Action Plan and The Analysis Method. Chapter IV presents Data Analysis. Chapter V presents the conclusions of the research and suggestion.

7

CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

To support this study, the writer does a literature review related to the topic of this study that is about the Characteristics of Junior High School Students, Songs as a Teaching Media, The Definition of a Song, The Elements of Songs, Songs in the Language Learning, Teaching Pronunciation, The Elements of Pronunciation, Students Problems in Pronouncing English Words, Songs to Improve Achievement in Pronunciation. 2.1 Characteristics of Junior High School Students

According to Hurlock as quoted by Soeparwoto ( 2004: 62 ) that students of Junior high school have some characteristics. They are as follows: (1) (2) (3) The ages of the students are between 13 to 16. They can not be said as young children or adult. The students of these ages will have changes on their body and their psychology and it will improve the way they think about something. (4) (5) The students of these ages are better in practice rather than in theory. They like to try new life style and decide what kind of attitude or character, as they want. (6) (7) They are less self-confident and do not believe about their ability. They like to attract peoples attention because they want people realize about their appearance by doing something out of social norm.

8

From the points mentioned above, it can be said that the students of these ages do not like something formal and they usually like to show outright attitude. Therefore, it is better for the teacher to bring the students into the real life rather than to give them a lot of theory in the learning process. Generally, the age of the students is very important for the teacher to decide about what to teach and how to teach them. The different age levels of the students will influence their competence in acquiring new languages. People say that children are fast language learners than adults. However students of different age levels have their own characteristics in learning a language. Harmer (2000: 38-40 ) divides students into three age levels: young children, adolescents and adults. And the students of Junior High school can be grouped into adolescents. Students of Junior High School are very special, as they cannot be said as children or adults. They are usually called as teenagers or adolescents. The students of these ages have special characteristics as they are in a transitional age. Callahan (1977:7) states that adolescence, including transition, is a period of change, of a new experience, of learning new roles of uncertainty, and instability undoubtedly one of the most trying times in life. On the other hand, Harmer (2000: 37) states that adolescents are believed to be unmotivated, surly, and uncooperative and therefore they make poor language. While Puchta and Schrats as quoted by Harmer (2000: 38) state that teenagers seemed to be

9

less lively and humorous than adults, they are so much less motivated and they present outright of discipline problems. From the statements above, the writer concludes that students of Junior High School level are usually less motivated and they also show contrast behaviors. However, teenage students also could be the best language learners. Therefore, as the teachers of teenage learners they should be able to plan the learning process that would make the students involve in the learning activities without any pressure in taking parts.

2.2

Songs as a Teaching Media

Media is derived from the Latin word medium that means between. The term refers to anything that carries information between a source and receiver. In general, it is a means of communication. Media is also considered as instructional system of teaching learning process. So instructional medium is also called teaching aid. It is used in order to facilitate the teacher to achieve the goal teaching learning process. The teacher can select the media from the traditional ones up to the modern ones. In doing this study the writer uses songs as the media in improving the students achievement in pronunciation. And here the writer discusses more about songs first. In our daily life, we are surrounded by songs. A song is like a magic that can hypnotize us, therefore, when we hear the songs we could be brought into the songs. For example, when someone is listening to a song, he can be brought into the story of the lyrics and the melody will play his emotion or feelings.

10

Sometimes we did not realize that we could sing the songs without learning how to sing the songs in a certain way. From the songs we can learn many things, for example we can get some more new words, and we also could learn how the words are pronounced. As songs are having magical effects, we can use songs in the learning process. Harmer (2000: 242) states that music is a powerful stimulus for student engagement precisely because it speaks directly to our emotions while still allowing us to use our brains to analyze it and its effects if we so wish. Songs are a good resource for English teaching. First, they are funny. Second, they promote mimics, gestures, etc. associated to the meaning. Third, they are good to introduce suprasegmental phonetics (stress, rhythm and intonation). Fourth, students play a participative role. Fifth, they can be applied to comprehension stages (listening) or production (singing). Sixth, there are songs for all levels and ages. Seventh, students learn English very easily, through echoic memory.

2.2.1 Definition of a Song Before talking about the effectiveness of songs as a media in learning language, here the writer quotes some definitions of a song from some sources: (1) Jamalus (1988: 5) states that songs can be said as art works if they are sounded (sung) with the accompaniment of musical devices. (2) Song - a short musical composition with words; "a successful musical must have at least three good songs" (http://www.allwords.com/word-

song+thrush.html)

11

(3)

Song - a set of words, short poem, etc. to be sung, usually with accompanying music. (http://www.allwords.com/query.php?SearchType=3&Keyword=song&goquery= Find+it%21&Language=ENG&v=65646309)

(4)

Hornby, AS (1995) defines song as a short poem or a number of verses set into music and intended to be sung.

(5)

The Encyclopedia of Americana (1998) defines song as a short musical work set to a poetic text, with equal importance given to the music and to the words. It may be written for one or several voices and is generally performed with instrument accompaniment. From the definitions of song above the writer concludes that song is a kind of

arts work that are intended to be sung either with or without instrumental accompaniments

2.2.2 Elements of Songs When a song is played, the listeners will not only listen to its lyrics, but also its melody. They enjoy the harmony, the expression and the rhythm. It means that a song is a unity of some music elements. The elements of music are divided into two categories (Jamalus, 1988: 7); those are main elements and expression elements. The first category is the main elements. It consists of rhythm, melody, harmony, and lyrics. Rhythm is the stretch of movement of the sounds. It becomes the base element in music. It is like how to sound a word, there will be letters read long and

12

short and there can be a pause too. It means that rhythm is how to step the music. Melody is the arrangement of stretch sound. And harmony is the unity of two or more tones that have different level played together. The last is lyrics, it can be said as musical sentences. The second category is the expression elements. It is the way of the musicians express their mind and feeling that consists of tempo, dynamic, and voice color. All the elements above are needed when someone creates a song.

2.2.3 Selection of the Songs When the teacher will apply songs in her / his teaching learning process, she /he should know what kind of song she would bring into the class. This is the problem if the teacher wants to use songs to her class. Harmer ( 2000: 243 ) suggests two ways to solve the problem about the way in selecting the songs to be brought into the class: the first is to have students bring their own favorite songs to class. If they do this, however, the teacher may want to have time ( a day or two ) to listen to the songs and try to understand the lyrics, the second way is to use older songs, to ask students whether they still have merit, whether they like them, despite their antiquity. Teachers then can choose songs, which they like and appropriate to the topic and subject matter. In this case, the writer uses the second way. She takes three songs related to the topic. Based on the curriculum 2006, the text types for the first grade of junior high school students are description and procedure. The themes suggested for the first

13

grade are self identity, family, school life, profession, things around us, shopping, and hobbies. The objective of the English subject in Junior High School is that the students can communicate through written or spoken form to solve their daily problems. In doing this study, the writer chooses the songs about description with the themes family, profession and hobby. The subject of the study is the student of the first year. From the characteristics of the first year students of junior high school explained above, it seems that they are not children anymore, but they are also not fully teenagers. So, the writer thinks that the songs Mother How Are You Today, Old Mc Donald and My Garden are appropriate for them. Those three songs are not too childish and not too complex. However, it is also better for the teacher to use the songs that can describe about the culture of people English spoken language.

2.2.4 Procedure in Applying the Songs To apply songs in the classroom, the teacher should also plan application sequence of the songs. In applying songs, the writer offers two procedures suggested by Ur and Wright and Haycraft. (1) The procedure suggested by Ur and Wright (1993 : 77-78) as follows: (a) Preparation: select a tape recording of a song so that you can sing it. Prepare an overhead transparency (or a poster/ hand out) of the words of the song.

14

(b) Procedure: first, play the song on a tape or sing it to yourself; second, show the words of the song; third, ask the students to follow the words; fourth, sing while you play it again. (2) The procedure suggested by Haycraft (1983 : 93), he suggested some variations using songs recorded on tape as follows: (a) Play the tape as many times as necessary and ask questions. (b) Get the class to use line by following the tape. (c) Divide up the class and have a group, each singing a line. Reply the tape as often as necessary. Find out who has a good voice and try to get solos. Bring out a student to conduct different combination until the song is familiar. (d) Play and sing whenever you want to revise. It is good to play songs at the beginning of class, while everyone is setting down. In doing the study the writer will use both the procedure suggested by Ur and Wright and Haycraft.

2.3 Teaching Pronunciation Pronunciation is defined as the way in which a language is spoken (Hornby, 1995: 497). On the other hand, Dalton ( 1998: 3) defines pronunciation as the production of significant sound in two senses. First, sound is significant because it is used as a part of a code of a particular language. Second, sound is significant because it is used to achieve meaning in contexts of use. From the definitions, it can be concluded that pronunciation is the way to sound languages so that meaningful.

15

Most of nonnative speakers of English have learnt English as a part of their formal education, and as a result, all of them are literates. They are able to write and read. This is really different from the condition found in English speaking countries. They learn the pronunciation, intonation, and other suprasegmental features first then finally they learn the spelling of the words. Although the nonnative speakers of English are literate enough; however, it does not mean that they are literate enough in English language. Therefore, the learners of English as foreign language should also need to learn about how to pronounce the words of the target language. Harmer (2000: 183) states that pronunciation teaching not only makes students aware of different sounds and sound features (and what these mean), but can also improve their speaking immeasurably. Concentrating on sounds, showing where they are made in the mouth, making the students aware of where words should be stressed all these things give them extra information about spoken English and help them. On the other hand, Dalton ( 1998: 6 ) also states about the importance of the students to be aware the pronunciation elements. When it comes to a language teaching, it is important to note that there is a difference between what is effective as appoint of reference or set of bearings for learning (let us call this a model) and what is presented as an attainable behavioral target (let us call this a norm). The task of pronunciation teaching, as in the teaching of any other aspect of language, is (in these term) to establish models for guidance, not norms for imitation.

16

From the statements above, it is important for the teacher to teach pronunciation and to make the students aware of pronunciation features because it can improve their production of spoken language and listening comprehension.

2.3.1 Elements of Pronunciation When learning English we will find two kinds of speech features

(Ramelan, 1985: 22). (1) Segmental features, which refer to sound units, arranged in a sequential order; or it is about consonant and vowel. (2) Suprasegmental features refer to stress, pitch, length intonation and other features that always accompany the production of segmental.

2.3.1.1 Segmental Features English segmental system includes vowels and consonants. The classification is based on the differences in their functions in an utterance and their ways of production. Vowels are sounds which are made without any kind of closure to the escape of air through the mouth (Syafei, 1988: 11).English vowels are divided into two kinds of vowels, long vowels and short vowels. Long vowels consist of / i: /,/ : /,/ a: /,/ u: /,/ o: /, while short vowels consist of / i /,/ e /,/ /,/ /,/ /,/ u /,/ o /.

17

Beside the two kinds of vowels above, there are also diphthongs. Diphthong is a sound composed of two vowels pronounced in close succession within the limits of a syllable (Syafei, 1988: 13). There are nine English diphthongs, / ei /,/ ai /,/ oi /,/ au /,/ o /,/ i /,/ au /,/ u /,/ e /. The English consonants consist of twenty-four. Those are / p /,/ b /,/ t /,/ d /, / k /,/ g /,/ f /,/v /,/ /,/ /,/ s /,/z /,/ /,/ /,/ h /,/ t /,/ d /,/ m /,/ n /,/ /,/ l /,/ r /,/ w /, / y /. It is quite different with the condition in Indonesian. There are only 5 vowels, 21 consonants and 3 diphthongs. It is possible if the students find difficulties when they learn English.

2.3.1.2 Supra segmental Features Supra segmental features are like the style used in words or sentences. There are four kinds of supra segmental features. The first is stress. Stress is meant the degree of force or loudness with which a syllable is pronounced so as to give it prominence (Ramelan, 1985: 25). Stress can be classified into a word stress and sentence stress. A word stress within a word and a sentence stress is the stress within a thought group or a sentence. Stress has an important role in English because different stress will differentiate meaning and intention. Second is pitch and intonation. Speech is produced with a sort of musical accompaniment or intonation. Intonation is the tune of what we say (Syafei, 1988:

18

28). For example if someone is getting angry, he will speak in a high tone. But when he is sad, he will speak in a low tone. The third is pause. English is spoken in groups of words, which are separated by pause. There are two kinds of pauses, a short one and a final one (Syafei, 1988: 30). Fourth is rhythm. It means the beat of language. In English, rhythm is stress-timed. This means that the time between two primary stresses is the same. If there are many words between the two primary stresses, then these syllables will be pronounced fast; if, on the other hand, there is only small number of syllables between the primary stresses, then these syllables will be pronounced slowly and more clearly (Syafei, 1988: 33). For example Can you see the van?; the words see and van take primary stresses for special purposes.

2.4 Students Problems in Pronouncing English Words Our mother tongue has some differences with English in pronunciation. In our language, there is no difference between its writing and its sound. But we find it different in English. Sometimes we sound differently from the writing. For example, the word here is pronounced / hi: /; however, in Indonesian we pronounce / here /. It is not denied that students often make mistakes in learning foreign language; however, doing such mistake is a part of learning the language itself. According to Julian Edge on Mistakes and Correction as quoted by Harmer (2000: 99) that mistakes can be divided into three broad categories: slips (that is

19

mistakes which students can correct themselves once the mistake can be pointed out to them), errors (mistakes which they cannot correct themselves and which therefore need explanation), and attempts ( that is when a student tries to say something but not yet know the correct way of saying it) . From the three categories, it can be said that error is the most important thing for the teacher to be concerned because the students cannot correct themselves instead of the teachers help. There are two kinds of mistakes that might cause the students to make mistake: L1 interference and developmental error. Ramelan (1985: 6-7) states some reasons about why students make mistake in their pronunciation are because they face such problems as follows: (1) (2) The existence of a given sound in the latter, which is not found in the former. Sounds which have the same phonetic features in both languages but differ in their distribution. (3) Similar sounds in two languages which differ only slightly in their phonetic features. (4) Sounds that have the same qualities in both languages may constitute some learning problem if they occur in a cluster or sequence of sounds.

2.5 Songs to Improve Achievement in Pronunciation Phonemic awareness is not the same thing as phonics. Phonemic awareness deals with sounds in spoken words, whereas phonics involves the relationship between sounds and written symbols. Phonics deals with learning sound-spelling relationships

20

and is associated with print. Most phonemic awareness tasks are purely oral -- Wiley Blevins in Phonics from A to Z: A Practical Guide

(http://www.songsforteaching.com/phonemicawareness.htm). From the statement above, the writer concludes that teaching pronunciation is done orally. One very effective thing to teach students pronunciation is by having the students train themselves in their daily lives through their own interests. Some students probably prefer to play games to enrich their vocabulary, other may sing or listen to English songs or may be read poetry to improve their listening ability, pronunciation and the English fluency. Paul (1996: 7) states that if she is singing or playing something she really enjoys, and suddenly encounters a word or structure she does not know, but which she feels she needs in order to sing or play successfully, she will feel an emotional need to learn. It means that someone will learn something when they need to learn. No one can force him/her to learn something if he/she does not want to learn. If we want our young learners to achieve something, we should not teach them formally. The more we teach, the less children learn. By using song, we may keep them emotionally involved in the learning process and keep them interested in making sense of this fascinating world of English. The aim is for the children to feel excited by getting better at English (Paul, 1996: 8). So it is better for the teacher to give extensive listening task to train their pronunciation by listening songs they like.

21

There are two kinds of listening activities that can be done by the students. Those are extensive listening and intensive listening. Extensive listening usually takes place outside of the classroom. It can be done at home or any places that the students want to have listening activities. They can also choose the way and the material they want. For example, the students may have songs or English news on the radio as the listening materials. While intensive listening is usually done in the classrooms, and the teachers usually have the materials and the way of listening activities for the students. Intensive listening can be done in some ways, by using taped material and life listening. It can be in the form of reading aloud, story telling, or conversation. Both ways are very important to improve the students acquisition of the language. Songs as one of listening materials can be applied in both ways. While the students listening to the music or song, they will learn many things, such as learning grammar and pronunciation. They also could train themselves for the listening comprehension. When they are listening they will not realize that they are improving their achievement of the language. While listening to the songs, the students may follow to sing the songs. So they can train their pronunciation ability unconsciously. From the statements above, we can say that songs are relaxing. They provide variety and fun, and encourage them to learn by themselves and unconsciously.

22

2.6 Action Research In dong this study, the writer uses classroom action research. Classroom action research is one of methods used in doing a study by having activities in the classroom. This study is usually used to revise a method or a curriculum in order to make it better. According to Gall (2003: 579) action research in education is a form of applied research whose primary purpose is the improvement of an educational professionals own practice. We use the term action research to include what is sometimes called practitioner research, teacher research, insider research, and (usually when carried out by teacher educators on their own practice) self study research. Teacher conducts much of the action research in education. In summary, action research is a study that needs practical concerns to solve the problems. It is a simply form self-reflection of the subject of the research toward the action given. Action research is different to other researches because in the action research, the researcher could greater self-knowledge, fulfillment, and professional awareness among practitioners. Here are the characteristics of action research according to Elliot ( 1978a ) as quoted by Mc Kernan (1998: 31) : (1) (2) (3) (4) It examines problems, which are deemed problematic by practitioners. These problems are deemed solvable. Such problems require a practical response. Action research suspends a full definition of the situation until exploratory research is undertaken.

23

(5) (6)

The goal is to deepen the researchers understanding of the problem. Action research uses case study methodology in an attempt to tell a story about what is going on and how events hang together.

(7)

The case study is reported in terms of the perceptions and beliefs of those setting- teachers, children, etc.

(8)

Action research uses the language of everyday discourse employed by the participants.

(9)

Action research can only be validated in unconstrained dialogue by the participants.

(10)

There must be a free flow of information within support groups and between

actors in the project. According to Denise Dabisch in Gall ( 2003:588 ) there are six stages in doing action research. Here is the chart:

24

Select a focus

Continue/ modify

Collect data

Reflect

Analyze and interpret data

Take actionSource: Action research: an educational leaders guide to school improvement (Glanz, 1998: 27).

Select a focus is selecting what or who will be the subject of the study, those are the problems and the subject of the study. For example, the teacher conducts a classroom action research about the methodology used on the teaching-learning process, so s/he might selects the students as the focus of the study. Collect data could be done before the researcher does an action. The data collection could be done through an observation or recording. Analyze and interpret data mean that before taking the action, the researcher takes a certain pretest to know the students competence before they and the researcher do the action. Take action means that the researcher implements the plan that s/he has made before. Reflect means that the reflection of the action toward the subject of the study that is students. How the action

25

influences the students. Continue / Modify, after taking the action and analyzing the result then the researcher, if the researcher is not satisfied, will modify or revise the plan that will be used in the next cycle. All the research designs have their own purpose and advantage. The purpose of action research is to combine the research function with the teacher growth in such qualities as objectivity, skill in research processes, habits of thinking, ability to work harmoniously with others, and professional spirit. It means that the researchers could use their own thinking or their own way in conducting the research. The researchers could express their mind through the research.

26

CHAPTER III METHOD OF INVESTIGATION

In this chapter the writer discusses about data collection, population and sample. The instrument of the research, action plan and the analysis method will be presented accordingly.

3.1 Data Collection Data are facts we have about people, situations, events, things, and relationships (Tripp, 1996: 15). Like other researchers, in carrying out a classroom action research one has to collect the data containing some information for ones undertaking. In doing research ( Walker, 1985 ) and in A Teachers Guide to Classroom Action research ( Hopkins, 1985 ) as quoted by Mc Niff ( 1992: 76 ) there are various methods of data collection: field notes, audio tape recording, pupil diaries, interviews and discussions, video tape recording, questionnaires, goniometry, documentary evidence, slide/ tape photography, case study. All the techniques have the advantages and disadvantages. In order to make it clear, here is the taxonomy of the techniques: Techniques Field notes Advantage(s) Disadvantage(s) need Use(s) Specific issues Case study General impression

Simple, on going, Subjective, personal practice

27

Techniques Audio recording

Advantage(s)

Disadvantage(s)

Use(s) Detailed evidence Diagnostic

tape Versatile, Transcription accurate, provide difficult, time sample data consuming, often inhibiting Pupil diaries Provides pupils Subjective perspective Interviews and Can be teacher- Time consuming discussions pupil, pupil-pupil Video tape Visual and Awkward and recorder comprehensive expensive, can be distracting Questionnaires Highly specific, Time consuming easy to to analyze, administer, problem of right comparative answer Goniometry Easy to Can threaten administer, isolated pupils provides guide to action Documentary Illuminative Difficult to obtain, evidence time consuming Slide / tape Illuminative, Difficult to obtain, photograph promote superficial discussion Case study Accurate, Time consuming representative, uses range of technique

Diagnostic Triangulation Specific in depth information Visual material Diagnostic Specific information feedback and

Analyses social relation ships.

Provides context and situation Illustrates critical incidents Comprehensive overview of an issue Publishable format

In doing this study the writer obtained data by using test, questioner, and field notes. She also used audio tape recording to record the data obtained because by audio tape recording technique an accurate and detailed data is needed to gain the data of students achievement in pronouncing English words. Stringer (1996: 64)

28

asserts that the use of a tape recorder has the advantage of allowing the researcher to record accounts that are both detailed and accurate.

3.2 Population and Sample The subjects of this study are the students of year seventh of MTs ANNUR Jepara in the academic year 2006/2007. There are 130 students who are divided into 4 classes. Since the study is a classroom research, the writer then took one class as the sample of the study. The selection of the sample was done randomly, all the classes had a chance to be chosen. The writer wrote the name of the class on small pieces paper then she rolled the paper and put it into a bottle. She then shook the bottle and let the one rolled paper out. Finally, she got class VII C as the sample of the study. There are 30 students in class VIIC. The choice of the sample is based on the following considerations: (1) the students of year seventh of MTs ANNUR have been studying English when they were in Elementary school. However, their ability in pronouncing English words is still poor (2) the writer wants to improve the students ability in pronouncing English words.

3.3 Research instrument To get the empirical data of the students achievement in pronouncing English words, the writer used a test of sound production. The pronunciation test belongs to a valid test. Lado (1961: 30 ) claims that if a test of pronunciation and nothing else, it is a

29

valid test of pronunciation, it would not be a valid test grammar or vocabulary because it does not test grammar or vocabulary. The instruments used in this study are: (1) Songs In doing this study, the writer selected three songs: Mother How Are You Today?, Old Mc Donald, and My Garden. Those three songs have themes and kinds of text related to the English curriculum 2006. The writer implemented the songs in teaching Building Knowledge of the Field ( BKOF) through listening activities. (2) Test The objective of the test was used to identify the students achievement in pronunciation related to intelligible pronunciation through spoken words. Harmer (2000: 184) states that if intelligible is the goal then it suggests that some pronunciation features are more important than others. Harris (1969: 81) also asserts that pronunciation analysis includes the segmental features (vowels and consonants) and the suprasegmental features (stress and intonation pattern). Based on the statements above, the writer made the analysis on three important pronunciation features; vowels, consonants and word stress. The writer did analysis on vowels, consonants and word stress. The standard pronunciation used in this study was the standard pronunciation of Oxford Learners Dictionary. (3) Questionnaire Questionnaire is a number of written questions used to get information from respondents (Arikunto, 1998: 128). In constructing the questionnaire, the writer used

30

closed questionnaire. It means that the respondents answer the questions by choosing one of answered given by the researcher. In this study, the writer used questionnaire to get additional information about the students reflection toward the learning activities by using songs. There were five information questions about five things. They are: (a) The students interest in some songs that were given by the teacher during the learning process. (b) The advantages that the students gained after the teacher presented the songs to improve their pronunciation. (c) The students motivations in taking part the learning activities. (d) The relevance between vocabularies that were presented in the songs used in this action research and the vocabulary that the students ever got but they still get difficulties in their pronunciation. (e) The sustainability the program in the action. (4) Field notes The field notes in this study was used to know the activities during the teachinglearning process, such as how the teacher carried out the material and the students response. In using field notes, the writer systematically kept notes of the classroom, for example;

31

(a) Students participation. In this study, the writer analyzed the students participation in the teaching learning activities by using songs, whether they followed all the activities or perhaps they only followed some of the activities. (b) Students interest and motivation In doing this study, the writer took notes of the students interest and motivation in learning English by using songs. If the students enjoyed the activities and liked to the songs given, the writer concluded that the students were interested and motivated in learning English by using songs. (c) Students improvement in pronouncing English words. Before and after the writer presented the songs, she took some notes about the students ability in pronouncing the words of the song.

3.4 Validity of the Test Harris (1969: 89) states that empirical validity is used to prove that scores have a high correlation to some outside criterion such as mark they get at the end of the course. This study deals with the students pronunciation achievement. So, the writer did not make statistical computation to check the empirical validity. To get the empirical data on students pronunciation, the transcription of students pronunciation was made by playing the recording several times to make it clear. She also consulted the transcription to an English teacher. The teachers educational background is S-1 degree of English Education.

32

3.5 Action Plan The writer planned six steps of action research in doing the action. The step was begun from selecting focus until continue or modify. In order to be clear, the writer would like to present the Glanzs model of action research as interpreted by Denish Dabish in Gall ( 2003: 586 ). Select a focus Step 1

Continue/ modify Step 6

Collect Data Step 2

Reflect Step 5

Analyze and Interpret data Step 3

Take Action Step 4Source:The six stages of action research by Glanz in Gall ( 2003: 586 )

Based on the model above, here are the implemented plans of the research: (1) The first step was selecting focus. The focus of this study was the students of class VII C of MTs ANNUR Jepara. (2) The second step was collecting data. The writer collected the data on January 22, 2007. The data collection was done by giving a pretest to the students. It was

33

done through sound production test and followed by 30 students. The writer asked the sudents to read the 75 words taken from the songs used in the research. She also recorded the students sound to get the empirical data. The objective of this test was used to know the students achievement in pronouncing English words before they took the program. (3) The third step was analyzing and interpreting the data. To get the empirical data, the writer not only made the analysis on the students pronunciation herself but also consulted the result of the analysis to the English teacher where the writer did the action. The analysis was done by transcribing students pronunciation. After making the analysis, the writer interpreted the result of the analysis by describing the pronunciation problems encountered by the students. (4) The fourth step was taking action. The action activities were teaching learning process by using songs. The teaching learning activities were done on three meetings. The first meeting was on January 30, 2007, the second meeting was on January 31, 2007 and the third meeting was on February 3, 2007. On each meeting, the writer used different songs. The songs used were Mother How Are You Today?, Old Mc Donald and My Garden. The writer implemented the songs in teaching description text through spoken cycle. Here are the activities during the teaching learning process: (a) The writer distributed the lyrics of the song to the students. Before the students listened to the song the writer asked the students to read the underlined words of the lyric.

34

(b) (c) (d) (e)

The writer played the song and the students listened to the song. The writer asked some questions about the song played. The writer and the students discussed about the content of the song. The writer played the song once again while the students listened attentively to the song and to the word pronunciation of the lyric.

(f) (g) (h)

The students sang the song together with the music accompaniment. The students worked in-group and then tried to retell the song. Before the class ended, the writer asked the students to read the underlined words once again.

(5)

The fifth step was reflection. To know the students reflection toward the program, the writer gave a posttest and questionnaire. The material and the way of taking the test were same as those on pretest. The writer conducted a posttest on February 5, 2007. The objective of the posttest was used to know whether the students made improvement on their pronunciation or not after listening to the songs. The questionnaire was used to know the students reflection toward learning English by using songs.

(6)

The last step was the continuation / modification. After conducting a posttest and giving questionnaire, the writer made the analysis. As the writer only took one action research cycle, it means that the study was complete.

35

3.6 Method of Data Analysis In his book, Syakur (1995:85) states that there are nine possible methods that can be used in research. One of them is descriptive method. This kind of method is used to describe what actually happens in a certain situation or condition. It provides the analysis of certain facts, for instance, the analysis of test result. The research conducted by the writer in this study is a descriptive research. The writer chose this method because it represented the effectiveness of song used to improve pronunciation achievement of the year seventh students of MTs ANNUR Jepara Arikunto (1998:102) states that a descriptive research can be carried out at school, factory, family, hospital, society, etc. The writer conducted the research at MTs ANNUR Jepara. The objective of the test was used to identify the students achievement in pronunciation related to intelligible pronunciation through spoken words. Harmer (2000: 184) states that if intelligible is the goal then it suggests that some pronunciation features are more important than others. Harris (1969: 81) also asserts that pronunciation analysis includes the segmental features (vowels and consonants) and the suprasegmental features (stress and intonation pattern). Based on the statements above, the writer made the analysis on three important pronunciation features; vowels, consonants and word stress. The writer did analysis on vowels, consonants and word stress. The standard pronunciation used in this study was the standard pronunciation of Oxford Learners Dictionary. The data analysis of this study went through the following steps:

36

(1) Transcribing the students pronunciation. In this step, the writer made the transcription of the students sound by listening to their voice several times to make it clear. To get the empirical data, the writer playing the recording several times to make the transcription of students pronunciation and the teacher of the school where she conducted the research. The teachers educational background is S-1 degree of English Education. And then compare whether there was difference on the transcription. When there were some differences, then, the writer listened the recording sounds again. (2) Comparing the transcription After getting the transcription of students pronunciation, the writer compared it to the standard pronunciation transcription. The standard phonetic transcription used in this study was taken from Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary. (3) Marking Students pronunciation The criteria of marking pronunciation achievement suggested on GBPP of The Development of Competence Based Curriculum-Scoring System is that to mark pronunciation can be based on the close similarity of the students pronunciation with the natives. From this suggestion, the writer drew criteria in analyzing the students pronunciation. If the students pronunciation was intelligible and acceptable (do not offer meaning changes) it means that the students made good pronunciation. On the other hand, students made poor pronunciation if their pronunciation of the words were unintelligible and offer different meaning. (4) Analyzing questionnaire

37

The writer analyzed the questionnaire through the following steps: (a) (b) (c) (d) Grading the Items of the Questionnaire. Determining the Grade Score. Tabulating the Data of Questionaire. Finding the Mean.

The formula used for computing the mean is as follows: M = x N Where, M = the mean x = the sum of the item score, and N = the number of the students (e) Matching the Mean to a Criterion

(5) Interpreting the data findings The writer interpreted the results of the data obtained by comparing the students pronunciation achievement on pretest and posttest, and its relation with the result of the questionnaire. The interpretation was used to describe the improvement of the students achievement in pronouncing English words.

38

CHAPTER IV DATA ANALYSIS

In this chapter, there are three important analyses that will be discussed. They are the analysis of each activity started from pretest until posttest, the analysis of questionnaire and the implementation of the songs in the teaching learning process. Here are the discussions of the analyses.

4.1 Analysis of Pretest The pretest was conducted on Monday, 22 January 2005 and followed by 30 students. The method used to gather the data for this study is achievement test. And the method of data analysis is by describing students pronunciation through its phonetic transcription. Based on those data, later the writer identified the students pronunciation achievement before they got treatment. The standard pronunciation used in this study was standard pronunciation on Oxford Learners Dictionary. The analysis was done into two ways. The first is about the way to pronounce vowels and consonants. The second is about the words stress. Here is the result of the students pronunciation achievement on pretest. The writer asked the sudents to read the 75 words taken from the songs used in the research. In the pretest, the students result was as follows:

39

Table 4.1 Students Pronunciation Achievement on Pretest No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. Test code S-1 S-2 S-3 S-4 S-5 S-6 S-7 S-8 S-9 S-10 S-11 S-12 S-13 S-14 S-15 S-16 S-17 S-18 S-19 S-20 S-21 S-22 S-23 S-24 S-25 S-26 S-27 S-28 S-29 S-30 Total Mean The number of pronunciation achievement 45 57 58 60 55 61 57 68 53 58 62 58 57 54 55 50 60 55 63 57 53 58 58 52 45 55 53 57 50 52 1676 55.86 The percentage of pronunciation achievement 60.00 % 76.00 % 77.33 % 80.00 % 73.33 % 81.33 % 76.00 % 90.66 % 70.66 % 77.33 % 82.66 % 77.33 % 76.00 % 72.00 % 73.33 % 66.66 % 80.00 % 73.33 % 84.00 % 76.00 % 70.00 % 77.33 % 77.33 % 69.33 % 60.00 % 73.33 % 70.66 % 76.00 % 66.66 % 69.33 % 2234.58 74.49 %

From the table above, it can be said that the students achievement is good enough because the average of students achivement is 74.49 %. It is a high percentage. So, the writer concluded that the students were familiar enough with

40

the pronunciation of the words would be presented in this study although most of them still made some pronunciation pronunciation. The students made poor pronunciation on the words orchid, delay, knight, know, thing, there, with, favorite and butterflies at the most. The classification of the students problem based on the reasons of pronunciation problem explained by Ramelan (1977: 6-7). (1) The existence of a given sound in the latter, which is not found in the former. They are / / (with, everything and thing) and / / ( mother ). (2) Sounds which have the same phonetic features in both languages but differ in their distribution, such as / d / on the word had and / k / on the word orchid. (3) Similar sounds which differ only slightly in their phonetic transcription, such as / eI / on the word today, / U / on the word note. In analyzing the word stress, the writer followed the pattern from the dictionary. Most of the stress of words used in this study happened on the first syllable. However, there are some students put the wrong stress on the words delay. It was caused the students made poor pronunciation, / d l I /. The stress should be put on the first syllable but they put it on the second syllable. Beside that, there is a word that do not happen on first syllable. It is / f (r) g e t /.

4.2 Analysis of the Teaching Learning Activities The action activities were teaching learning process by using songs. The teaching learning Process was divided into three meetings. On each meeting, the writer used different songs. The songs used were Mother How Are You Today?, Old Mc

41

Donald and My Garden. The writer implemented the songs in teaching description text through spoken cycle.

4.2.1 Analysis of the First Activities The first activities were conducted on Tuesday, 30 January 2007. The teachinglearning activities could run well. The song used was Mother How Are You Today? The writer used this song to teach descriptive text about family through spoken action. She used the song as a modelling text. During the learning process, the students showed their interest by taking part on the learning process. However, they were still nervous when they were asked by the writer to retell about the song. In retelling the song, the writer asked the students to work in group and retell the song in front of the class by recalling their memories about the words and phrases of the song. Because of the limited time, there were only two groups retold the song in front of the class. Before the writer played the song, she asked the students to read the underlined words that were shown in the lyric together. In this case the students made poor pronunciation on the words know, knight, delay, today, daughter, while, away, time, mother, here and was. And at the end of the lesson the writer also asked the students to read the underlined words of the lyric. The students made poor pronunciation on the words here, know, knight, was and delay. Therefore, the writer concluded that the students made improvement on their pronunciation after listening to the song.

42

4.2.2 Analysis of the Second Activities The second activities were done on Wednesday, 31 January 2007. The activities done were like those on the first meeting that were teaching-learning process by using song. And the song used was Old Mc Donald. This song was used to teach descriptive text with the theme profession through spoken action. In the second meeting, the students became more relaxed and they began to enjoy the lesson using song. They were not afraid when they were asked to retell about the song in front of the class because they could memorize some of the words or phrases of the lyric. And they were not doubt in pronouncing the words. As the same previous activities, there were two groups represent to retell the song. The activities were same as those on the first meeting, so, before the writer played the song, she asked the students to read the underlined words that were shown in the lyric together. In this case the students made poor pronunciation on the words old, his, farm, here, there, with, everywhere, duck, some and chick. And at the end of the lesson the writer also asked the students to read the underlined words of the lyric. At the end of this action, the students only made poor pronunciation on the word with. Therefore, the writer concluded that the students made improvement on their pronunciation after listening to the song.

4.2.3 Analysis of the Third Activities The third activities were done on Saturday, 3 February 2007. The activities in this action were same as the activities on the second meeting that was teachinglearning process by using song. However, the song used in this action was My

43

Garden with the theme hobby. In this action, the students could enjoy the activities and they were not so nervous when they were asked to retell the song. The activities on the third meeting were same as those on the second meeting. So, before the writer played the song, she asked the students to read the underlined words that were shown in the lyric together. In this case the students made poor pronunciation on the words garden, orchid, bougainvillea, butterflies, make, and water. And at the end of the lesson the writer also asked the students to read the underlined words of the lyric. The students only made poor pronunciation on the words orchid and butterflies. Therefore, the writer concluded that the students made improvement on their pronunciation after listening to the song.

4.3 Analysis of the Posttest The writer gave posttest to the students on Monday, 5 February 2007. It was done by reading the list of the words taken from the songs used in this research. The procedure of doing the posttest was the same as the procedure on the pretest. Before the posttest was given, the students were asked to review all the words that had been given by singing and reading the songs together. In this posttest the students would pronounce 75 words. Here is the result of the posttest:

44

Table 4.2 Students Pronunciation Achievement on Posttest No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. Test code S-1 S-2 S-3 S-4 S-5 S-6 S-7 S-8 S-9 S-10 S-11 S-12 S-13 S-14 S-15 S-16 S-17 S-18 S-19 S-20 S-21 S-22 S-23 S-24 S-25 S-26 S-27 S-28 S-29 S-30 Total Mean The number of pronunciation achievement 71 73 72 75 74 72 71 75 73 72 75 72 73 70 69 69 73 70 73 70 72 73 72 75 71 73 72 71 73 75 2169 72.30 The percentage of pronunciation achievement 94.66 % 97.33 % 96.00 % 100 % 98.66 % 96.00 % 94.66 % 100 % 97.33 % 96.00 % 100 % 96.00 % 97.00 % 93.33 % 92.00 % 92.00 % 97.33 % 93.33 % 97.33 % 93.33 % 96.00 % 97.33 % 96.00 % 100 % 94.66 % 97.33 % 96.00 % 94.66 % 97.33 % 100 % 2861.60 95.38 %

From the table above, the average achievement of the students posttest was 95.38 %. It shows that there is a rising for the percentage of the students

45

achievement. It can be concluded that after the students learned English through listening to English songs, the students made a significant improvement on their pronunciation. However, there are three students who can pronounce the entire words well and the number of poor pronunciation of each student are decrease. The poor pronunciation happened on the words knight, know, orchid and note at the most. It was because the students got difficulties in pronouncing cluster sounds and they did not know that there is difference on the distribution of the same phonetic features in both languages. After taking the program, the students still have the same problem in giving stress words. However, they made improvement on several words.

4.4 Analysis of the Questionnaires Answering the questionnaire was the last activity of the classroom action research. It was done at the same time when the writer gave a post test. The students were asked to answer five questions. There are certain techniques to analyse the questionnaire items. They will be discussed in the following sections.

4.4.1. Grading the Items of the Questionnaire The questionnaire consisted of five questions; each of them had these options namely: a, b, and c. Each option was given a score that indicated the quality of each item. The score ranges were from 1 to 3 as shown in the table below:

46

Table 4.3 Score Per Item Option a b c Point 1 2 3 Meaning Low Medium High

Scoring procedure of graded questionnaire(Arikunto, 1998: 215)

The explanation of the point above is if the students choose a, the score is 1, it means that it is low, if the students choose b, the score is 2, it means that it is medium, if the students choose c, the score is 3, it means that it is high.

4.4.2 Determining the Grade Score After the students answered the questionnaire, the writer analyzed the result of the questionnaire to get the data. The result of the data analysis of each question can be classified into a range of mean below: Table 4.4 Classification of Graded Scores Range of Mean 0.01-1.00 1.01-2.00 2.01-3.00 Students interest Low Medium High The Advantage Do not help students Help Help students very much Students The motivation Relevancy Not relevant Low Medium High Relevant Very relevant Sustainabi lity Not necessary Necessary Very necessary

47

4.4.3 Tabulating the Data of Questionaire The purpose of tabulating the questionnaire is to make the result of grading clearly readable. The table consists of these coloumns: name and score per item, which is presented in appendix 5 (p.56)

4.4.4 Finding the Mean The formula used for computing the mean is as follows: M = x N (1) students interest M = 73 = 2.43 30 the advantage M = 70 = 2.33 30 students motivation M = 82 = 2.73 30 the relevancy M = 63 = 2.10 30 sustainability M = 66 = 2.20 30

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

4.4.5 Matching the Mean to a Criterion To get additional information about the students response in getting the class action research, the students should answer a questionnaire. Then, the writer matched the mean of the students response in answering the questionnaire to the

48

criterion above. Here is the analysis of the questionnaire result, which is based on the criterion above. Table 4.5 Category of the Criterion Issue Students interest The adventage Students motivation The relevancy Sustainability Mean 2.43 2.33 2.73 2.10 2.20 Category High Help students very much High Very relevant Very necessary

4.4.6 Concluding the Questionnaire Result Based on the result of the matching the mean to the criterion, it can be concluded that: (1) (2) The students interest in learning English by using songs is high. The songs have a high advantages for the students. By using songs also help the students to improve their confidence and motivate the students in learning english. (3) The students are having motivation in taking part the activities of the learning process. (4) The relevance between vocabularies that were presented in the songs used in this action research and the vocabulary that the students ever got. (5) The program is very important to the students.

49

4.5 Effectiveness of the Songs to Improve the Students Achivement in Pronunciation The step of teaching learning process used was Building Knowledge of the Field (BKOF) through spoken cycle. In this step, the writer introduced descriptive text by using songs. The objective of the learning is that the students have an imagination about descriptive text besides they can improve their pronunciation. The writer did this study through intensive listening activities because it was done in the classroom. The writer also had the material and hsd the way of listening activities for the students. At the first time, the students still got difficulties in getting along the activities because they never had such learning activities. However, the activities could run well. On the next meetings, the students could enjoy the learning process and they felt more relax. They seemed interested and happy in taking parts the activities. It was shown from their willing to do what the writer asked to do. At the end of the learning process the writer always asked the students work in-group to retell the songs by recalling their memories of the lyrics. Because of the limited time, there were only two groups retold the songs in front of class on each meeting. The students were good enough in retelling the songs although they could not remember all the lyrics. They became more confident when they were asked to retell because they could pronounce the words well. Before and after the learning process, the writer gave pretest and posttest to the students by reading the underlined words on the lyrics. The result of the posttest shows that the students make improvement on their pronunciation.

50

Therefore it can be concluded that the implementation of songs in the teaching learning process can help the students to improve their pronunciation. Based on the results of pretest and posttest, the writer concludes that before the students took the program most of the students made poor pronunciation. The range of poor pronunciation made by the students is around 5 words up to 22 words. The students made poor pronunciation on the words orchid, delay, knight, know, thing, there, with, favorite and butterflies at the most. After taking the program, there are three students made good pronunciation of all the words. Besides, other students also made improvement on several words. The range of the students poor pronunciation is around 0 until 14. From the results above, it can be concluded that songs are effective to improve the students achievement in pronouncing English words, although not all of the students can pronounce the words well. However, the students improvement was also supported by the students interest in the songs and their motivation in taking part the activities of the learning process.

51

CHAPTER V CONCLUSION

In this chapter, the writer will draw some conclusions about the research that has been reported on the previous chapters and she also would give some suggestions as the contribution to support the teaching-learning process. 5.1 Conclusion After conducted this study the writer concludes: (1) The progress of 20,89% shows that listening English songs is effective to improve the students pronunciation achievement. (2) The use of songs in the teaching-learning process have some benefit for the students. The students not only learn about how the words pronounced but also master English vocabularies. (3) Most of the students are interested in learning English by using songs. It seems that they feel more relax instead of threatened with the theory. Their motivation in learning English increases and they expect that this kind of program will be given regularly and continously. (4) The students still get difficulties in pronouncing words with cluster sounds such as knight and know.

52

(5)

In conducting this study, the writer got some problems when collecting the data. It was time consuming because the writer had to test one by one and check students pronunciation one by one. It was not easy to make the transcription of the students pronunciation.

5.2 Suggestions It is better for the English teachers to use songs on their teaching-learning process since songs have a very big benefit for the students. Songs can be implemented when the teacher wants to teach vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, or kind of text. It is known that aImost all the students like songs, so it can be used as one of the ways to get the students participation in the teaching-learning process.

53

BIBLIOGRAPHY Arikunto, S. 1993. Prosedur Penelitian. Yogyakarta: PT Rineka Cipta. Callahan, J, F and L. H. Clark. 1977. Teaching in the Middle and Secondary Schools. New York: Macmillan publishing Co. inc. Dalton, E. 1998. Teaching Pronunciation. London: Longman Group Ltd. Friedman, P. 1998. Encyclopedia of Americana Volume 19. Connecticut:Grolier Incorporated. Gall, M. D. 2003. Educational Research. Sydney: Pearson Education Inc. Harmer, J. 2000. The Practice of English language Teaching. London: Longman Group Ltd. Harris, D. 1969. Testing English as a Second language. London: Longman Group Ltd. Haycraft, J. 1983. An Introduction to English Language Teaching. London: Longman Group Ltd. Hornby, A.S. 1995. Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Jamalus, 1988. Belajar Musik. Jakarta: Depdikbud, Dirjen Dikti. Lado, R. 1961. Language testing: The teachers book. London: Longman Group Ltd. Mc Niff, J. 1992. Action Research: Principles and Practice. London: Routledge. Mc Kernan, J. 1998. International Encyclopedia of Higher Education Vol.5: Curriculum Action Research. New Delhi: Crest Publishing House. Paul, D. 1996. Song and Games for Children. New York: Macmillan publishing Co. inc. Ramelan. 1985. English Phonetics. Semarang: IKIP Semarang Press. Ramelan. 1992. An Introduction to Language Analysis. Semarang: IKIP Semarang Press. Soeparwoto. 2004. Psikologi Perkembangan. Semarang: UPT UNNES Press.

54

Stringer, E.T. 1996. ActionResearch: A Handbook for Practitioners. London: Sage Publication Ltd. Syakur, M. 1995. Prinsip Dasar Metodologi Penelitian. Yogyakarta. PT Rineka Cipta. Syafei, A. 1988. English Pronunciation: Theory And Practice. Jakarta: Depdikbud, Dirjen Dikti. Tripp, D. 1996. SCOPE: Supporting Work Place Learning Education Department of Western Australia. Eaglewood Ur, P. and A. Wright. 1993. Teaching Listening Comprehension. Cambridge: University Press. http://www.allwords.com/word-song+thrush.html http://www.allwords.com/query.php?SearchType=3&Keyword=song&goquery=F ind+it%21&Language=ENG&v=65646309 http://www.songsforteaching.com/phonemicawareness.html

55

55

Appendix 1 List of the words 1. mother 2. how 3. are 4. you 5. today 6. here 7. is 8. a 9. note 10. from 11. your 12. daughter 13. with 14. me 15. everything 16. worry 17. fine 18. promise 19. to 20. see 21. this 22. summer 23. time 24. no 25. delay 26. found 27. the 28. knight 29. of 30. my 31. dream 32. next 33. get 34. know 35. him 36. many 37. thing 38. happen 39. while 40. I 41. was 42. away 43. old 44. had 45. farm 46. and 47. on 48. his 49. he 50. some 51. chick 52. there 53. flower 54. garden 55. in 56. morning 57. jasmine 58. bougainvillea 59. Lillian 60. orchid 61. favorite 62. forget 63. happy 64. water 65. them 66. all 67. see 68. butterflies 69. over 70. make 71. duck 72. dog 73. fish 74. everywhere 75. cow

56

Appendix 2

Mother How Are You Today?

Mother how are you today? Here is a note from your daughter With me everything is okey Mother how are you today? Mother dont worry Im fine Promise to see you this summer This time there,ll be no delay Mother how are you today? I found the knight of my dream Next time youll get to know him Many things happened while I was away Mother how are you today?

57 Appendix 3

Old Mc Donald had a farmdo = g 4/4 6. had 6. 5. a farm 3 E 3 I 2 2 E I 3 E 1 O 3 I 2 E 2 1 I O

1 1 1 5. Old Mc Donald 5. And 5. 5. With a 1 Here

1 1 1 5. on his farm he 1 1 chick chick 1 1 a chick,

6. 6. 5. had some chicks 1 5. 5. here and a 1 1 e - very 3 E 3 I

1 1 1 chick chick there 1 1 1 where a chick 2 2 E I 1 O 1 chick

1 1 1 there a chick 6. had

1 1 1 5. Old Mc Donald 1. 2. 3. 4.

6. 5. a farm

Cows : mow mow Duck : quack quack Fish : oi oi Dog : bark - bark

58 Appendix 4

My Gardendo = f 4/4 5 6 There are 5 There 5 Lil 4 And 6 is 7 1 3 some flo - wers 5 a 5 2 jas - mine 3 in 21 my 2 7 gar - den

2 1 7 1 3 and some bou - gain - villea 3 are 2 to 2 my 1 4 fa - vo 7 them 1 rite 1 all

6 - li 3 I

7 1 3 - an, or - chid 2 3 3 dont for - get

2 1 wa - ter

Reff 1 And 5 Fly 2 3 4 6 e - very mor - ning 4 3 o - ver 4 2 flo - wer 6 I 5 4 5 3 see but - ter - flies

3 4 3 5 It makes me happy

1 And 5 Fly

2 3 4 6 e - very mor - ning 4 3 o - ver 4 2 flo - wer

6 I

5 4 5 3 see but - ter - flies 2 1 hap - py

4 3 makes me

59 Appendix 5

No 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30.

Tabulating Data of the Questionnaire Score per item Students Code 1 2 3 4 2 2 3 1 S-1 2 3 3 2 S-2 2 2 2 2 S-3 3 3 3 2 S-4 3 3 3 2 S-5 2 3 3 2 S-6 2 2 3 2 S-7 2 2 3 2 S-8 2 2 2 2 S-9 3 2 3 2 S-10 3 3 3 2 S-11 2 3 3 2 S-12 3 2 3 3 S13 3 3 3 2 S-14 3 3 3 2 S-15 3 2 2 2 S-16 2 2 3 2 S-17 3 3 3 2 S-18 2 2 2 2 S-19 2 2 3 2 S-20 3 2 3 2 S-21 3 2 3 3 S22 2 2 2 2 S-23 2 2 2 2 S-24 3 2 3 2 S-25 3 3 3 2 S-26 2 2 3 2 S-27 2 2 3 2 S-28 2 2 2 3 S-29 2 2 2 3 S-30 Total score Mean 73 2.43 70 2.33 82 2.73 63 2.10

52 2 2 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 2

66 2.20

60

Appendix 6

The QuestionnairesJawablah pertanyaan berikut ini dengan menyilang salah satu jawaban a, b atau c! 1. Apakah anda menyukai lagu-lagu yang diberikan? a. tidak suka b. suka c. sangat suka 2. Apakah lagu-lagu yang diberikan dapat membantu anda memperbaiki pengucapan anda dalam berbahasa Inggris? a. tidak b. membantu c. sangat membantu 3. Apakah kegiatan dalam menggunakan lagu ini menembah kesukaan anda dalam belajar bahasa Inggris? a. tidak b. sedikit membantu c. sangat membantu 4. Apakah kata-kata yang ada dalam lagu pernah anda dengar tetapi anda masih mengalami kesulitan untuk mengucapkannya? a. tidak b. kadang-kadang c. sering 5. Apakah kegiatan pembelajaran bahasa Inggris dengan menggunakan lagu perlu dilakukan secara terus menerus? a. tidak perlu b. perlu c. sangat perlu

Appendix 7 Analysis of the Students Pronunciation Achievements on Pretest List of wordsMother How Are You Today Here Is A Note From Your Daughter With Me Everything Worry Fine Promise

No1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Pronunciation suggested/ m (r) / /haU/ / a: (r) / / j u: / /tdeI/ / h I (r) / /Iz/ / / / ei / /nUt/ /frm/ / j o: (r) / / d o: t (r) / /wI/ / m i: / /evrIi/ /wri/ /faIn/ /promIs/

The number of students pronunciation Good26 30 27 29 15 8 30 30 12 29 28 24 13 29 28 29 23 28

Explanation of poor pronunciation/mor/ /r/ /you/ /t dI /,/tudaI / /h r/

Poor4 3 1 15 22 18 1 2 6 17 1 2 1 7 2 / e v ri I / / m o: ri / / f i: n / , / f e n / / p r o m e s / , / p r o m ae s / /not/ / f r u: m / / y u: r / / d o: gh t r / / w I / , / wi t / , / w ai t / , / w i: t /

61

No19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 To

List of words

Pronunciation suggested/ t : / / s i: / /Is/ / s m (r) / /taIm/ /nU/ /dIleI/ /faUnd/ / / / i: / /naI t/ /v/ /maI/ / d r i: m / /nekst/ /get/ /nU/ /hI m/ / m e ni / /I/ /haepn/

The number of students pronunciation Good Poor30 30 30 27 21 30 11 25 29 8 30 27 28 22 27 8 22 27 16 29 3 9 19 5 1 22 3 2 8 3 22 8 3 14 1 / m ei / / d r em / /sum r/ / ti: m / , / t e m /

Explanation of poor pronunciation

See This Summer Time No Delay Found The Knight Of My Dream Next Get Know Him Many Thing Happen

/ d l I / , / d ai li / / f u: n / , / f o n / / ti: / / k ni t / , / k ni / , / k ni g h / , / k n e t / , / k n e I t / , / k n aI t /

/ n e k / , / ni x / , / ni k / / gi t / /knou/ / h ai m / , / hi : m / , / h m / / m ni / / e / , / I / / h ae pi n /

62

No39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58

List of wordsWhile I Was Away Old Had Farm And On His He Some Chick There Flower Garden In Morning Jasmine Bougainvillea

Pronunciation suggested/waIl/ / ai / /wz/ /weI/ /Uld/ /haed/ / f a: m / /nd/ /on/ /hIz/ / h i: / /sm/ / t I k / / e (r) / / f l a U (r) / / g a: d n / /In/ / m o: n I / / d ae z m I n / / b u: g n v I l I /

The number of students pronunciation Good Poor21 28 26 22 27 28 27 29 30 30 21 23 24 17 30 30 30 29 30 28 9 2 4 8 3 2 3 1 9 7 6 13 1 2 / m r ni / /h / / s o: m / / ei /

Explanation of poor pronunciation/ w i: l / , / w e l / , / w e li / /wes/,/w / / weI /,/ waI/ ,/wI / / o: l d / / h e: t / / f (r) m / , / f a r m / /n/

/ ki k / , / c e k / , / s I k / / r / , / i r /

/ b o u g ei n vi l ea / , / b u g ei n vi l /

63

No59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75

List of wordsLillian Orchid Favorite Forget Happy Water Them All See Butterflies Over Make Duck Dog Fish Everywhere Cow

Pronunciation suggested/lIlIn/ / o: kid / / f ei v r I t / / f (r)g e t / / h ae pi / / w o: t (r) / / m/ / o: l / / s i: / /btflaI/ / U v (r) / /meIk/ /dk/ /dog/ /fI/ / e v r I w e r/ /kaU/

The number of students pronunciation Good Poor23 7 22 30 30 28 30 27 30 16 30 26 30 30 30 22 24 7 23 8 2 3 14 4 8 6 / l /, / u:l / /wetr/ / li li a n /

Explanation of poor pronunciation

/orsIt/,/orsaIt/ / f a v o ri t /

/ b y u t (r) f li s / , / b u t r f l aI s / , / b u t r f li s / , / b t r f li s / /mek/ / mk/

/ e v r I w (r) / /koU/

64

Appendix 8 Analysis of the Students Pronunciation Achievements on Posttest Pronunciation suggested/ m (r) / /haU/ / a: (r) / / j u: / /tdeI/ / h I (r) / /Iz/ / / / ei / /nUt/ /frm/ / j o: (r) / / d o: t (r) / /wI/ / m i: / /evrIi/ /wri/ /faIn/ /promIs/

No1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

List of wordsMother How Are You Today Here Is A Note From Your Daughter With Me Everything Worry Fine Promise

The number of students pronunciation Good30 30 30 30 28 24 28 30 22 30 30 29 18 30 28 30 30 30

Explanation of poor pronunciation

Poor2 6 2 8 1 12 2 / e v ri I / / d au t ( r) / / w I / , / wi t / , / w I t / /not/ /t dI / /h r/ / is /

65

No19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38

List of wordsTo See This Summer Time No Delay Found The Knight Of My Dream Next Get Know Him Many Thing Happen

Pronunciation suggested/ t : / / s i: / /Is/ / s m (r) / /taIm/ /nU/ /dIleI/ /faUnd/ / / / i: / /naI t/ /v/ /maI/ / d r i: m / /nekst/ /get/ /nU/ /hI m/ / m e ni / /I/ /haepn/

The number of students pronunciation Good Poor30 30 30 30 30 30 28 30 30 11 30 30 30 30 30 17 30 30 27 30 2 19 13 3 / i / /knou/ / d l I /

Explanation of poor pronunciation

/ k ni t / , / k n aI t /

66

No39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58

List of wordsWhile I Was Away Old Had Farm And On His He Some Chick There Flower Garden In Morning Jasmine Bougainvillea

Pronunciation suggested/waIl/ / ai / /wz/ /weI/ /Uld/ /haed/ / f a: m / /nd/ /on/ /hIz/ / h i: / /sm/ / t I k / / e (r) / / f l a U (r) / / g a: d n / /In/ / m o: n I / / d ae z m I n / / b u: g n v I l I /

The number of students pronunciation Good Poor30 30 30 30 29 30 30 30 30 30 30 27 30 26 30 30 30 30 30 30 1 1 3 4 /h/ / s o: m / /wI/ / o: l d /

Explanation of poor pronunciation

/ r / , / i r /

67

No59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75

List of wordsLillian Orchid Favorite Forget Happy Water Them All See Butterflies Over Make Duck Dog Fish Everywhere Cow

Pronunciation suggested/lIlIn/ / o: kid / / f ei v r I t / /fget/ / h ae pi / / w o: t (r) / / m/ / o: l / / s i: / /btflaI/ / U v (r) / /meIk/ /dk/ /dog/ /fI/ / e v ri w e r/ /kaU/

The number of students pronunciation Good Poor30 27 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 28 30 30 30 30 30 29 30 3 2 1 / o( r) si t /

Explanation of poor pronunciation

/ b u t r f li s / , / b t r f li s /

/ e v ri w (r) /

68