IMPROVING SMA SANTO MIKAEL SLEMAN STUDENTS ABILITY TO CONSTRUCT SIMPLE SENTENCES BY USING JUMBLED WORDS A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree in English Language Education By Tia Xenia Student Number: 081214031 ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS AND TRAINING EDUCATION SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2012
IMPROVING SMA SANTO MIKAEL SLEMAN STUDENTS ABILITY TO CONSTRUCT SIMPLE SENTENCES BY USING JUMBLED WORDS A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree in English Language Education By Tia Xenia Student Number: 081214031 ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS AND TRAINING EDUCATION SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2012 i
ii
iii
The reward of a thing well done is to have done it Self-trust is the first secret of success. (Ralph Waldo Emerson) Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. Continuous effort not strength or intelligence is the key to unlocking our potential. (Winston Churchill) As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live. (Johann Von Goethe) I dedicate this thesis to my wonderful parents, my beloved sister and my great aunty for being the most important part in my life. iv
v
vi
ABSTRACT Xenia, Tia. 2012. Improving SMA Santo Mikael Sleman Students Ability to Construct Simple Sentences by Using Jumbled Words. Yogyakarta: English Language Study Program, Sanata Dharma University. Writing cannot be separated from sentences. Constructing sentences is a start to write a composition since it has levels of difficulties starting from words to sentences, sentences to paragraphs, and paragraphs to longer composition. The quality in constructing sentences is needed to convey information clearly. Therefore, it is important for students to be able to compose sentences correctly. However, most of the students had problem in constructing simple sentences. They had lack of ability to construct simple sentences correctly. The error commonly occurred in the students writing was the sentence fragment. For that reason, the researcher used jumbled words as the solution to this problem. The primary aim of this research was to improve the students ability to construct simple sentences by using jumbled words. There were two research problems in this research, namely, how jumbled words were applied in SMA Santo Mikael Sleman and whether jumbled words could improve the students ability to construct simple sentences. The researcher conducted Classroom Action Research (CAR) to solve the research problem. There were two cycles conducted in the research. The number of the participants was 13 XB students in SMA Santo Mikael Sleman. The researcher used some instruments to obtain the data as well, such as observation sheet, field notes, questionnaires, interviews and the students writing. Jumbled words, as one of the grammar games, helped the students to write simple sentences correctly since those motivated the students to learn and increased the students interest. As a result, they were willing to think and learn the language in enjoyable learning. Moreover, the use of jumbled words could improve the students ability since there was repetition in the learning process. It provided drill exercises. In addition, the use of jumbled words was easy to understand. As a result, more than half of students improved their ability to construct simple sentences. It was shown from the error percentage of the students writing. Moreover, the average of error percentage of the students writing in simple sentences decreased significantly. It was concluded that the use of jumbled words could help the students to improve their ability to construct simple sentences. The researcher suggested English teachers apply jumbled words in the class to improve the quality of sentences which the students wrote. The researcher also suggested students practice their ability by using jumbled words. Keyword: jumbled words, simple sentences, composition, paragraph vii
ABSTRAK Xenia, Tia. 2012. Improving SMA Santo Mikael Sleman Students Ability to Construct Simple Sentences by Using Jumbled Words. Yogyakarta: Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Sanata Dharma University. Menulis tidak dapat dilepaskan dari kalimat. Menyusun kalimat adalah tahap awal untuk menyusun sebuah karangan karena dalam menyusun karangan terdapat tingkat kesulitan yang berawal dari penyusunan kata menjadi kalimat, kalimat menjadi paragraf dan paragraf menjadi karangan yang lebih panjang. Kualitas dari menyusun kalimat sangat dibutuhkan untuk menyampaikan informasi dengan jelas. Oleh karena itu, kemampuan siswa dalam menyusun kalimat dengan benar sangatlah penting. Namun, sebagian besar siswa memiliki masalah dalam menyusun kalimat sederhana. Mereka kurang mampu dalam menyusun kalimat tunggal dengan benar. Kesalahan yang sering terjadi dalam tulisan siswa adalah sentence fragment atau lebih dikenal kalimat tidak lengkap. Oleh karena itu, peneliti menggunakan jumbled words (kata acak) sebagai solusi untuk menyelesaikan masalah. Tujuan utama dari penelitian ini adalah untuk meningkatkan kemampuan siswa untuk menyusun kalimat sederhana dengan menggunakan jumbled words. Dalam penelitian ini terdapat dua rumusan masalah. Yang pertama adalah bagaimana jumbled words diapplikasikan di SMA Santo Mikael Sleman dan apakah jumbled words dapat meningkatkan kemampuan siswa untuk menyusun kalimat sederhana. Peneliti menggunakan Penelitian Tindakan Kelas (PTK) untuk menyelesaikan rumusan masalah. Dalam penelitian ini terdapat dua siklus. Jumlah responden dalam penelitian ini adalah 13 responden dari siswa XB di SMA Santo Mikael Sleman. Peneliti menggunakan alat penelitian untuk mendapatkan data seperti lembar tulisan siswa, lembar observasi, catatan lapangan, kuesioner, dan wawancara. Jumbled words sebagai salah satu dari permainan tata bahasa dapat membantu siswa untuk menulis kalimat tunggal dengan benar karena permainan tersebut memotivasi siswa untuk belajar dan meningkatkan minat siswa. Oleh karena itu, mereka bersedia untuk berpikir dan belajar bahasa dalam pembelajaran yang menyenangkan. Selain itu, penggunaan jumbled words dapat meningkatkan kemampuan siswa karena terdapat pengulangan dalam proses pembelajaran. Permainan tersebut memberikan latihan secara terus menerus. Selain itu, penggunaan jumbled words mudah untuk dimengerti. Oleh karena itu, lebih dari setengah siswa telah meningkatkan kemampuan mereka untuk menyusun kalimat tunggal. Hal tersebut dapat dilihat dari persentase kesalahan dari tulisan siswa. Selain itu, rata-rata dari persentase kesalahan pada tulisan siswa berkurang secara signifikan. Dapat disimpulkan bahwa penggunaan jumbled words dapat membantu siswa untuk meningkatkan kemampuan mereka untuk menyusun kalimat tunggal. viii
Peneliti menyarankan kepada guru Bahasa Inggris untuk mengapplikasikan jumbled words di kelas untuk meningkatkan kualitas dari kalimat tulisan siswa. Peneliti juga menyarankan siswa untuk melatih kemampuan mereka dengan menggunakan jumbled words. Kata kunci : kata acak, kalimat tunggal, komposisi, paragraf ix
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to express gratitude to Jesus Christ as all of His blessing, helping hands, love, encouragement, and believing in doing this research, so that I could pass all of the obstacles both when I conducted the research and when I reported all in thesis. I thank God for all of His strength given to me when I went through the difficulties. I would also thank my best supervisor, C. Tutyandari, S.Pd., M.Pd. for her time, guidance, suggestions, patience, encouragement, support and motivation when I was doing the research and reported into thesis. My supervisor always opened my mind when I got stuck in doing my thesis. I also thank Sri Purwantoro, S.Pd., the principal of SMA Santo Mikael Sleman who gave permission to conduct research in SMA Santo Mikael Sleman. I would address my gratitude to Drs. A. Agus Wijayanto who had permitted me to conduct the research in his classroom. I truly thanked to Veronica Widi H, S.Pd., M.Hum. for her help, support, and suggestion from the very beginning of the research until the end of the thesis process. Moreover, I thank XB students in SMA Santo Mikael Sleman for their help and cooperation in conducting research in their class. I would like to thank Drs. Y.B. Gunawan, M.A. for his time, and suggestions when I wrote the thesis. He gave me a way out when I got lost in doing my thesis. I would like to thank Drs. Barli Bram, M.Ed., Ph.D. for his time, suggestions, and kindness, so I could motivate myself to face the final defend. x
This is my biggest gratitude for my beloved family. I thank my wonderful parents, Bapak Rudiyatno and Ibu Sih Widayati for their understanding, patience, love, pray and support. They let their children live their own life. I love them very much. I also thank my beautiful sister, Stephanie Otie Anggarani for accompanying me and caring me in doing this thesis. She always supports me when I am down. I also thank my beloved aunt, Mbak Ndari for supporting me to go on, and for praying for my success. I am grateful to Stefanus Eko Ardiyanto and Yohannes Jatmiko Yuwono, S.Pd. for all of their kindness, time, suggestion and willingness to be my proofreader for this thesis. I also thank my beloved partners, Bernadeta Diah R.A. and Agnes Siwi P. for working together, sharing ideas, and supporting each other from the very start of conducting research until finishing this thesis. I would like to address gratitude to my beloved, FX. Adityo Nugroho, S.T. for his support, motivation, love, encouragement, jokes and happiness, so I could smile and forgot all of the burdens for a while. I also thank my besties, Sely (Silly), Diah (Didi), Sepsi, Niken (Nican) for sharing happiness, support, jokes, motivation, and strength. I express my gratitude to Mas Sedik and Mas Marshel for being my wonderful seniors in PBI. I also thank to all of my friends whose names I cannot mention one by one. I also thank Mbak Dhanniek, Mbak Tari and the librarians in Sanata Dharma University for all of their help during the process of research. Tia Xenia xi
TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TITLE PAGE... i APPROVAL PAGES... ii DEDICATION PAGE... iv STATEMENT OF WORK S ORIGINALITY... v LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPERLUAN AKADEMIS... vi ABSTRACT... vii ABSTRAK... viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS... x TABLE OF CONTENTS... xii LIST OF TABLES... xv LIST OF FIGURES... xvi LIST OF APPENDICES... xvii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION A. Research Background... 1 B. Research Problem... 5 C. Problem Limitation... 5 D. Research Objective... 6 E. Research Benefits... 6 F. Definition of Terms... 7 CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE A. Theoretical Description... 9 1. The Meaning of Composition... 9 2. Sentences... 9 a. The Definition of Sentence... 10 b. Four Sentence Structure Classifications... 10 c. Four Sentence Errors... 13 xii
d. Improving Sentence Structure... 16 3. Teaching Grammar... 16 a. The Meaning of Grammar... 16 b. The Method of Teaching Grammar... 17 c. Teaching Grammar through Games... 18 4. Classroom Action Research... 22 a. The Definition of Classroom Action Research... 22 b. The Advantages of Classroom Action Research... 23 c. The Model of Classroom Action Research... 23 B. Theoretical Framework... 24 CHAPTER III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY A. Research Method... 27 B. Research Setting... 30 C. Research Participants... 30 D. Research Instruments... 31 E. Data Gathering Technique... 33 F. Data Analysis Technique... 35 G. Research Procedure... 37 CHAPTER IV. RESEARCH RESULTS AND DISCUSSION A. The Implementation of Jumbled Words in SMA Santo Mikael Sleman... 39 1. Preliminary Study... 39 2. First Cycle... 43 3. Second Cycle... 55 B. The Improvement of the Students Ability to Construct Simple Sentences... 68 1. The Main Result of the Students Improvement... 68 2. The Supporting Result of the Students Improvement... 71 xiii
CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS A. Conclusions... 79 B. Recommendations... 81 REFERENCES... 82 APPENDICES... 84 xiv
LIST OF TABLES Table Page Table 4.1. The Error Percentage in the Students Writing of Simple Sentences in Preliminary Study... 42 Table 4.2. The Error Percentage in the Students Writing of Simple Sentences in Cycle 1... 54 Table 4.3. The Error Percentage in the Students Writing of Simple Sentences in Cycle 2... 67 Table 4.4. Improvement of the Students Ability to Construct Simple Sentences... 69 Table 4.5. The Students Opinions toward Jumbled Words... 72 Table 4.6. Whether Jumbled Words Helped the Students to Construct Sentences... 72 Table 4.7. How Jumbled Words Helped the Students... 73 Table 4.8. Whether Jumbled Words Increased the Students Motivation... 77 xv
LIST OF FIGURES Figures Page Figure 2.1. Model of Action Research... 24 Figure 4.1. The Average of Error Percentage in the Students Writing... 70 xvi
LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix Page Appendix 1. Covering Letter for the Head of SMA Santo Mikael Sleman... 85 Appendix 2. Research Official Statement from SMA Santo Mikael Sleman... 87 Appendix 3. Lesson Plan and Teaching Materials of Preliminary Study... 89 Appendix 4. Field Notes of Preliminary Study... 95 Appendix 5. Observation Sheets of Preliminary Study... 100 Appendix 6. Lesson Plan and Teaching Materials of Cycle 1... 105 Appendix 7. Field Notes of Cycle 1... 110 Appendix 8. Observation Sheet of Cycle 1... 117 Appendix 9. Lesson Plan and Teaching Materials of Cycle 2... 122 Appendix 10. Field Notes of Cycle 2... 127 Appendix 11. Observation Sheet of Cycle 2... 134 Appendix 12. Questionnaire... 137 Appendix 13. The Raw Data of Questionnaire... 140 Appendix 14. Interview Guide... 143 Appendix 15. Interview Transcripts... 145 Appendix 16. Sample of the Students Writing in Preliminary Study... 150 Appendix 17. Sample of the Students Writing in Cycle 1... 153 Appendix 18. Sample of the Students Writing in Cycle 2... 156 Appendix 19. The Pictures of the Research Process... 159 xvii
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION In this chapter, the researcher shows the research background, the research problem, the problem limitation, the research objectives, the research benefits, and the definition of terms. A. Research Background English becomes a universal language in which it is used around the world. It follows that learning the language is important in order to have the capability to communicate with other people throughout the world. Since mastering English is important, the Government of Indonesia includes English as school subject. In learning English, there are four skills to be mastered. One of them is writing. Writing cannot be separated from sentences. Brewton et al. (1962) add that writing cannot be separated from sentences since they are a habitual part of writing (p.189). For that reason, the quality in constructing sentences is needed to convey information clearly. Therefore, it is important for students to be able to compose sentences correctly. Composing sentences has levels of difficulties starting from words into sentences, sentences into paragraphs, and paragraphs into longer composition. If students lacked composing words into sentences, it will be the hindrance for students to move forward in composing complex composition. 1
2 Based on the researcher s observation when she was doing Program Pelaksanaan Lapangan (PPL) held in July to October 2011/2012, many English teachers do not take much time for the students to improve their writing skill. The majority of the learning process in the school is focused on reading. The students read a lot of passages and answer the questions given by the English teachers. The students do not have many writing practices. Since they do not have much time to practice in writing skill, they have difficulties in composing simple sentences and make many grammatical mistakes. Besides, many English teachers still apply the traditional methods. In the process of teaching grammar, the teachers speak, explain, and write the materials in the front of the class while the students copy the materials given by the teachers from the whiteboard to their notebooks. They follow the teachers instruction to do the exercises given. Tenth graders of the XB class in SMA Santo Mikael Sleman had lower ability in writing skill. They had not achieved the writing objectives of senior high school in which the students are expected to write a text. The problem was because they had difficulties to construct simple sentences. They did not put a subject or a verb in each sentence and did not convey one complete idea. It could be seen that the students had not understand yet what a sentence is. The students ability can be seen from the result of their mid-test held on September 12, 2011. The result was not satisfying. Nobody reached 70, even some of them reached below 50 in English mid-test.
3 These are the students results on the mid-test in essay section which the students were asked to change the affirmative sentences to negative and interrogative sentences. Student 1: (+) They travelled in a comfortable coach with a toilet, music, and video. (-) Did not travelled in a comfortable coach with a toilet, music, and video. (It is missing a subject) (?) (This student did not answer this part) Student 2: (+) They travelled in a comfortable coach with a toilet, music, and video. (-) The travelled in a comfortable coach not with a toilet, music & video. (It is missing a subject) (?) In a comfortable coach with a toilet, music & video, they travelled? (It is missing a verb) Student 3: (+) They travelled in a comfortable coach with a toilet, music, and video. (-) The toilet, music, and video they travelled in a comfortable with coach. (It is missing a verb) (?) Where a toilet, music, and video? (It is missing a predicate verb) Student 4: (+) The body of an octopus looks like a big balloon. (-) Did not looks like big balloon. (It is missing a subject) (?) What did the body of an octopus looks like Most students tend to make the errors in constructing simple sentences. Mostly, the error that the students wrote in their writing was sentence fragment. More than 10 students did not put a subject and a verb in each sentence. It cannot be called a simple sentence if it does not only have a subject and a verb but also convey a complete thought. Since the researcher had found the problem faced by the students which was in constructing simple sentences, the researcher conducted Classroom Action
4 Research (CAR) in the class. CAR is an action research conducted in the classroom to solve a problem (Fraenkel & Wallen, 2008, p. 589). For this reason, the researcher conducted CAR to help the students of SMA Santo Mikael Sleman to improve their ability to construct simple sentences which means they are able to write sentences correctly, so they do not find any difficulties in constructing simple sentences anymore. When the researcher was doing her PPL, she implemented jumbled paragraphs in the class. It turned out that the students were so happy, active, and enthusiastic in arranging jumbled paragraphs. All of them took part in arranging jumbled paragraphs. Having known the students reaction when the jumbled paragraphs were implemented, the researcher conceived that using jumbled words as grammar games could be implemented in the class as the solution to the problem. The use of jumbled words is aimed to improve the students ability to construct simple sentences. Since jumbled words are included in grammar games, jumbled-words game motivates the students to learn the language since they will learn the language in enjoyable way. The students will be more active and take part in the learning activities. Subconsciously, they learn how to construct simple sentences correctly. Moreover, their mind will be guided in arranging a sentence since there is repetition in the learning process. Therefore, by this step, they will be able to understand how to construct simple sentences correctly. The researcher expected that jumbled words could help the students to organize their mind to construct sentences. The use of jumbled words makes the
5 teaching and learning activities become enjoyable in learning grammar. Playing and learning English can be integrated, so learning English will not be boring for the students when they deal with grammar. It means that the students can take part in the learning activities and can be motivated in learning. Hence, they can really understand the process of constructing simple sentences. This research is worth studying because it can improve the quality of the students writings. It will avoid the sentence fragment occurred in the students writing. The current study explores the use of jumbled words as grammar game in order to improve the students ability to construct simple sentences which express one idea in a sentence. B. Research Problems The research questions formulated would be as follows. 1. How are jumbled words applied in SMA Santo Mikael? 2. Do jumbled words improve the students ability to construct simple sentences? C. Problem Limitation The limitation of this current research is improving the students ability to construct simple sentences by using jumbled words. The participants were 13 students of XB in SMA Santo Mikael Sleman, academic year 2011/2012. The researcher limits the analysis on simple sentences. Normally, a simple sentence contains one independent clause which has a subject and a verb. It must convey
6 one complete idea as well. The researcher also concerns with simple sentences using past tense in the learning activities since the topics were in news item and recount text. Therefore, the students are also expected to be able to understand the tenses used in the topic. In the teaching and learning process, the students learn the sentence patterns inductively. D. Research Objectives The objectives of this study are to overcome the problem faced by the students of XB of SMA Santo Mikael Sleman in constructing simple sentences. This research will find out how jumbled words are applied in SMA Santo Mikael Sleman and whether jumbled words improve the students ability to construct simple sentences or not. E. Research Benefits This research will give contribution for the people as follows. 1. The Students of SMA Santo Mikael Sleman This current research will help and improve their ability to construct simple sentences. If they master in constructing words into sentences, they will not find difficulties to move forward to the next level which is sentences into paragraphs. By using jumbled words, they will not feel monotonous in learning. They will be more active, enthusiastic, and motivated in teaching learning activities. They learn in the simple and enjoyable way. Therefore, they can feel the ease to memorize and understand the material well.
7 2. The English Teacher of SMA Mikael Sleman The benefit of this research is that it will be helpful for the English teacher to use jumbled words in teaching and learning process, especially when the students deal with grammar. 3. The Researcher By conducting this research, the researcher can answer the problem which occurs in the classroom. Besides, this will be useful for the researcher to find out the new strategies in learning English. For further researcher, they are able to develop more activities and improve the students ability. F. Definition of Terms There are some terms used in this study. They are: 1. Jumbled Words Jumbled words are sentences in which the words are in the wrong order and will be arranged into a good sentence. In Oxford Advanced Learner s Dictionary (2000: 732), it is defined that the word jumble itself is untidy or confused mixture of things. 2. Simple Sentence Simple sentence contains an independent clause which consists of a subject and a verb. Mallery (1957) explains that the simple sentence consists of a single independent clause. Any sentence, however short or long, that contains one
8 subject and one predicate (p. 71). Therefore, a subject and a verb take an important role in each simple sentence. 3. XB Students in SMA Santo Mikael Sleman SMA Santo Mikael is one of the senior high schools which are located in the remote area in Sleman. Mostly, the students are from outside Jogjakarta. Most of them moved from other schools. They brought their own problems in the school. Ten B (XB) is one of the classes in SMA Santo Mikael Sleman, which consists of 13 students. There are seven boys and six girls. The ages of the students are between 15-17 years old. The number of the students in the class XB was reduced from 22 students in the first semester into 13 students in the second semester since there was school s policy which required some students to move to other schools. Most of the ten B students had not achieved the writing objectives of senior high school in the English subject in which the students are expected to write texts. It was because they had not understood what a sentence means. The students wrote incomplete sentences and ungrammatical sentences. As a result, their writing products were difficult to understand. From the description, it could be concluded that the writing ability of ten B students was in the beginning level. They needed to learn and understand what a complete sentence meant.
CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE In this chapter, the researcher would like to put some theories which are relevant to the problem of the research. This chapter is divided into two parts. The first part is theoretical description and the other is theoretical framework. A. Theoretical Description In this theoretical description, the theories which are relevant to the research are discussed. They are the meaning of composition, sentences, teaching grammar, and Classroom Action Research (CAR). 1. The Meaning of Composition Mallery (1957) explains that Composition is concerned with putting together of parts to form a whole: words into sentences, sentences into paragraphs, and paragraphs into longer units such as essays and narratives (p. 2). Writing has levels of difficulties from constructing words into sentences, sentences into paragraphs, and paragraphs into longer composition. 2. Sentences In this part, the researcher is going to present the definition of sentence, four sentence structure classifications, four sentence errors, and improving sentence structure. 9
10 a. The Definition of Sentence Brewton et al. (1962) define a sentence as a word or a group of words containing a subject and a verb and delivering one idea (p. 191). Mallery (1957) states that subject is the word or words naming the person or thing about which something is asserted while predicate is the word or words which assert something about the subject (p. 3). The subject and the predicate take important role in every sentence which is built. b. Four Sentence Structure Classifications Mallery (1957: 71) classifies a sentence according to its structure into four. They are simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex. 1) The Simple Sentence Simple sentence is a writing composition which conveys one complete thought and basically contains one clause which has one subject and one predicate. Mallery (1957) explains, The simple sentence consists of a single independent clause. Any sentence, however short or long, that contains one subject and one predicate (p. 71). Murcia and Freeman (1999) add a simple sentence as an independence clause containing at least one subject and one verb (p.20). Independent clause is a sentence that can stand alone and expresses a complete thought. Moreover, Brewton et al. (1962) add that there are at least two parts which are simple subject and predicate verb to every complete sentence (p. 192). It is not about the number of words but the main contents are a subject and a verb. However, a simple sentence may contain compound subjects or compound verbs in a sentence.
Therefore, students are expected to be able to construct simple sentences since it is the simplest sentence structure classification. This is the example of a simple sentence taken from Mallery s book (1957) entitled Grammar, Rhetroric and Composition. The tired, dirty, and footsore hikers struggled wearily across the old bridge, up the hill, and finally, into the camp in the pine forest. 11 The example provided by Mallery is considered as a simple sentence because there are only one subject and one finite verb even though it contains many words. An imperative can also be called simple sentence even though there is not a subject in that sentence. The subject in imperative sentence is implicit. As a deduction, the meaning of the sentence is implied. It can be shown from the following examples. Sit! Open the door! Close the window! 2) The Compound Sentence The compound sentence is a kind of sentence that consists of two or more simple sentences joined by a coordinating conjunction. The coordinating conjunctions can be and, but, or nor. The important thing is there must be the subject in each clause (Mallery, 1957, p. 72). Hence, the subject must be clear in each clause. Mallery (1957) writes in his book that the compound sentence consists of two or more independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction. Each clause must be itself a simple sentence. (p. 72). Murcia and Freeman (1999) add that a compound sentence consists of two or more independent clauses (p.20).
12 The example of the compound sentence is provided below. Daniel Defoe was one of the earliest journalists, and his newspaper was extremely influential. (Mallery, 1957) 3) The Complex Sentence Mallery (1957) states that a complex sentence consists of one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses (p. 73). Murcia and Freeman (1999) define a complex sentence as a sentence containing a main clause and one or more subordinate clause (p.20). Independent clause expresses the complete thought. However, dependent clause cannot stand by itself. It depends on the independent clause. The examples of the complex sentences taken from Mallery s book (1957) entitled Grammar, Rhetoric and Composition are provided below. When the century began, there were many coffee-houses in London. We know that these gathering led eventually to the formation of a great insurance firm 4) The Compound-Complex Sentence The compound-complex contains two or more independent clauses and at least one dependent clause (Mallery, 1957, p. 73). This kind of sentence is more complex than the other types of sentence since it has two or more independent clauses and one dependent clause. Henceforth, it is called compound-complex sentence. This is the example of compound-complex sentence taken from Mallery s book (1957) entitled Grammar, Rhetoric and Composition.
Although their influence was, for the most part, a good one, the coffee Dependent clause houses sometimes fell into disrepute, and the authorities more than once Ind. clause complained that they were being used for seditious gatherings. Ind. clause 13 c. Four Sentence Errors There are four sentence errors which commonly occur in students writing (Mallery, 1957, p. 112). They are the sentence fragment, the comma splice, the fused sentence, and the dangling modifier. 1) The Sentence Fragment The error which commonly occurs in students writing is sentence fragment. A sentence fragment is an incomplete sentence. Some fragments are incomplete because they lack either a subject or a verb, or both ( The Writing, 2012). Moreover, a fragment is a phrase or a dependent clause as it is thought as a complete sentence ( Sentence, n.d.). Complete sentence is a sentence which has a subject and a verb in a sentence and conveys one idea. A sentence is considered as a sentence fragment when it lacks a subject, a verb, or both. Mallery (1957) clarifies a sentence as a group of words expressing one complete thought (p. 112). Therefore, a sentence which expresses a complete thought is a complete sentence which has a subject and a verb in a sentence. Hence, a writer has to keep in mind that a sentence expresses a complete thought and have a subject and a verb in it. Mallery suggests some ways to avoid sentence errors occur in the writing composition. It is provided in the following suggestions:
14 1. Do not write a dependent clause as though it were a complete sentence. 2. Do not write an appositive (introduced by such expression as that is, for example, or namely) as though it were a complete sentence. 3. Do not write a participial phrase as though it were a complete sentence. (Mallery, 1957, pp. 113-114) It is clear that a sentence must express a complete thought. If the sentence is incomplete, it is considered as a sentence fragment. Besides, a dependent clause is not considered as a complete sentence as well as it does not represent a complete thought. They are provided in the following examples: Accompanied by some nurses in the hospital. (It is missing a subject) Information from television. (It is missing a verb) Because the weather is not good. (It is an incomplete thought) These examples are considered as sentence fragment because it does not have a subject and a verb in the sentence and do not express a complete thought either. 2) The Comma Splice The sentence error comes from the use of comma to join two clauses or complete sentences, whereas comma is a separating mark ( Sentence, n.d.). The example is provided below. Two children cook turkey behind their house, the turkey is well-cooked in the pan. In the compound sentence, there are two independent clauses. To avoid error of comma splice, the writer uses coordinating conjunctions, such as and, but,
15 nor or semicolon while to avoid error of comma splices in complex sentences, the writer is able to put subordinating conjunctions, such as because, since, when, while, etc if the dependent clause is in the first part. 3) The Fused Sentence Mallery (1957) notes two or more sentences run together with no mark of punctuation between them are said to be fused (p. 115). Therefore the way to avoid it is by separating them and punctuating them appropriately. The example is in the following. I work in the office every day I drive my own car after I have breakfast. 4) The Dangling Modifier Dangle can be explained like if a participle, for example, cannot be thus connected with its antecedent in the sentence, it is called dangle (Mallery, 1957, p. 116). It means dangling modifier is not really clear seen what it modifies. Dangling modifiers describe nothing and dangle in the sentences ( Sentence, n.d.). It occurs when the modifier is put in the wrong place. The example is provided below. Hanging from the ledge high over a mountain, Danielle saw the tree with their brightly colored fall leaves ( Sentence, n.d.). Hanging from the ledge high over a mountain is dangling modifier since it does not modify the right object it modifies. The modifier must be close to the object it modifies.
16 d. Improving Sentence Structure Brewton et al. (1962) write that improving sentence structure can be done by avoiding fragments (p. 249). This error is commonly occurred in students writing. Brewton et al. (1962) add that The sentence fragment is considered a very serious error in writing because it shows the writer s misunderstanding of what a sentence is (p. 249). The writer has made improvement of constructing sentences if the writer is able to write complete sentence. Brewton et al. (1962) state that To write sentences which express your ideas effectively, you must strive for unity and clarity (p. 251). The subject must be clear and related to the predicate. Then, clarity in a sentence is achieved. Brewton et al. (1962) write A sentence has unity when all the ideas expressed are closely related and contribute to a single impression (p. 252). Therefore, unity is included to the criteria of effective sentences. 3. Teaching Grammar It is important to teach grammar since producing good writing is related to the students ability in grammar. Cobbet (1819) states that to compose good writing, it cannot be separated from grammar. Grammar can teach the students how to make use of words in the proper manner (as cited in Nunan, 1999, p. 96). a. The Meaning of Grammar Nunan (2003) states grammar is generally thought to be a set of rules specifying the correct ordering of words at the sentence level (p. 154). According
17 to Paulston and Bruder (1976), grammar is the possible forms and arrangements of words in phrases and sentences (p. 1). Grammar contains rules which are related to forms and arrangements of words. As a result, grammar helps the writer to produce good sentences which have relationship between words and have different function. Besides, Nunan (1999) defines grammar as (1) An analysis of the structure of a language, either as encountered in a corpus of speech or writinhhhg (a performance grammar) or as predictive of a speaker s knowledge (a competence grammar). A contrast is often drawn between a descriptive grammar, which provides a precise account of actual usage, and a prescriptive grammar, which tries to establish rules for the correct use of language in society. (2) An analysis of the structural properties which define human language (a universal grammar). (3) A level of structural organization which can be studied independently of phonology and semantics (p. 97). From the definitions above, it is clear that writing is related to grammar. Since grammar is related to writing, it is called performance grammar. It is called competence grammar if it is found in speaking. Therefore, grammar is important in learning language because it is related to many aspects. b. The Methods in Teaching Grammar Nunan (2003) divides the methods in teaching grammar into two methods (p. 158). The first one is deductive and the second one is inductive. Those will be listed as follows. 1) Deductive Method In deductive method, it focuses on the explanation then practicing in learning grammar. The teachers take the centre of the class. The teachers will
18 explain the grammar rules, and then the students make phrases or sentences using new language. The students do not have much time to take part in the teaching learning activities. 2) Inductive Method In inductive method, it focuses on practicing than generalizing the rule in teaching grammar. It means that the students have much time to practice in learning grammar. They see the example of the language, and then they try to practice by themselves. c. Teaching Grammar through Games According to Harmer (2007: 60), in recent years the researchers have turned their attention to the area of language humour and language play. The examples of language play are songs, games, etc. Therefore, songs and games are used to achieve the target language. 1) Definition of Games Games are activities in which learners learn in an enjoyable situation even though occasionally they do not realize it, meaning that by taking part in the games they learn about the materials in a fun way. They will enjoy the activities of learning in the class since the situation will not be tense to study. Martin (1995:1) defines game as: Game is any fun activity which gives young learners the opportunity to practice the foreign language in a relaxed and enjoyable way (as cited in Brewster & Ellis, 2004, p. 172).
19 2) Advantages of Using Games in Language Learning Using games in language learning brings many advantages in teaching language. One of the advantages is increasing students motivation to learn language. In 2003, Wright, Betteridge, and Buckby states that Games help and encourage many learners to sustain their interest and work (p. 2). Harmer (2007) states that Students might be motivated by the enjoyment of the learning process itself or by a desire to make themselves feel better. (p. 98). Games motivate the students to follow and practice the teaching learning process in the class. Because of that, games stimulate the students to think and take part in the activities. As a result, learners direct their own learning. Students motivation becomes an important part of learning activities in the classroom. The obstacle of the process of learning activities in the classroom is when students have no motivation to study. Harmer (2007) states that the motivation is essential to success... Without such motivation we will almost certainly fail to make the necessary effort. (p. 98). Since students motivation is important to learn language, the teachers method used in the classroom takes an important role in the teaching and learning process. The teachers are expected to be creative to increase the students motivation in the teaching learning activities. Increasing the students motivation can be done by creating fun learning and good atmosphere in the class. It creates enjoyment in learning language. Harmer (2007) states that intrinsic motivation is the kind of motivation that is generated by what happens inside the classroom;
20 this could be the teacher s methods, the activities that students take part in (p. 20). Moreover, using games in the class does not only tend to motivate and be fun but can also improve the students skill, grammar, pronunciation and others. According to Brewster, Ellis (2004), Games are not only motivating and fun but can also provide excellent practice for improving pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and the four language skills (p. 172). Cook (2000) notes language play includes mimicry and repetition (as cited in Harmer, 2007, p. 60). Harmer (2007) adds, In language play, there is often repetition of structure and lines, and the use of meaning puns to create effects (p. 60). Since in language play there is repetition, it will be able to achieve learning goal. Besides, students experience by themselves in learning language. 3) Grammar Games Harmer (2007) states that grammar games will engage students and encourage them to use the target structures with enthusiasm (p. 223). Grammar games will build students enthusiasm in following the learning activities. The students will enjoy the teaching learning process since the learning process will be fun. These are the examples of grammar games that can be implemented in the classroom (Harmer, 2007, p. 223). a) Ask the Right Question Ask the right question can be implemented in any language material, older children plus, and for elementary plus. Harmer (2007) states that that game
21 forces the students to think extremely carefully about the exact construction of the questions they are asking (p. 223). b) Putting Sentences back together again Putting sentences back together again can also be called jumbled word. Jumbled word is word ordering. Therefore, in this game the students are given sentences in which the words are in the wrong order, and then they arrange the wrong words order into good sentences. The example is did / love / she / exercises / doing / not / English then the students arrange it into She did not love doing English exercises. This game helps students to set their mind to the natural order and unnatural order of a sentence. In natural order, the subject comes first, the verb comes after the subject, and the other elements follow while in unnatural order, all or part of the predicate precedes the subject (Brewton et al., 1962, p. 195). It means that jumbled words are able to help the students to write sentences since they have known and understood the right order. Besides, those will help the students to realize that each sentence needs a subject and a verb. c) One Question behind In this game, the students will obtain some questions. In the first question, they will not answer it. In the next question, they will answer the first question. Therefore, they have to remember the previous question. This game needs high concentration. This game is enjoyable, but it cannot go on too long.
22 4. Classroom Action Research In this part, the researcher would discuss the definition, the aim, the characteristic and the model of Classroom Actio n Research. a. The Definition of Classroom Action Research Fraenkel and Wallen (2008) state that action research is conducted by one or more individuals or groups for the purposes of solving a problem or obtaining information in order to inform local practice (p. 589). Action research has essential method that is trying out the ideas in practice as a means of improvement and as a means of increasing knowledge about the curriculum, teaching, and learning (Kemmis & McTaggart, 1982, p. 5). The aim of Classroom Action Research (CAR) is to improve educational practice in the certain situation which is conducted by groups or participants for the purpose. The result will be the improvement which occurs in the classroom. b. The Principles of Action Research McNiff and Whitehead (2002) state that action research can be conducted in several contexts, social and caring sciences, education, organization and other related studies (p. 15). Kemmis and McTaggart (1988), as cited by McNiff and Whitehead (2002), add that: Action research is a form of collective self-reflecive enquiry undertaken by participants in social situations in order to improve the rationality and justice of their own social or educational practices, as well as their understanding of these practices and the situations in which these practices are carried out (p. 24).
23 Lewin (1946), as cited by Kemmis and McTaggart (1982), adds that the process of the research begins with an observation of the circumstances and fact found in the circumstances (p. 6). From the explanation, it can be concluded that to conduct action research, the fact problems or practices in the particular situation that need attention are underlying the research. Thereafter, researchers take action to make improvement. c. The Advantages of Action Research There are five advantages of action research (Fraenkel & Wallen, 2008, p. 596). Those are provided in the following advantages. Action research is flexible. It can be conducted by any professional, in any type of school, at any grade level, and solving any kind of problem occurred in the particular area. Action research can improve educational practice. Teachers can practice their expertise in effective ways. Action research can help teachers identify problems systematically. Action research can build up a small community of research-oriented individuals within the school itself. d. The Model of Classroom Action Research Lewin (1946), as cited by Kemmis and McTaggart (1982), describes that action research is in a spiral steps (p. 6). There are four steps which are planning, action, observation, and reflection. If the research is successful, the researcher will re-confirm it in the next cycle. If the research fails, the researcher can revise the
24 plan and it will be conducted in next cycle. The model of action research is shown in the figure 2.1. Figure 2.1. Model of Action Research (Kemmis and McTaggart, 1982, p. 6) B. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK In theoretical framework, the researcher would like to relate the theories to the current research. There are four kinds of sentences (Mallery, 1957, p. 71). They are simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex. The researcher focused on the simple sentences which the students wrote since the problem faced by the students was about constructing simple sentences. They had lack of abilities in constructing simple sentences, even some students wrote in Bahasa Indonesia as they did not know how to write the sentences in English. According to Mallery (1957), there are four sentence errors. They are the sentence fragment, the comma splice, the fused sentence, and the dangling
25 modifier (p.112). Based on the data, the error that commonly occurred in the XB students writing was the sentence fragment. The sentences were missing a subject or a predicate verb or both. They did not construct simple sentences correctly. By constructing a complete sentence, the students had improved the quality of the sentences they constructed. Cobbet (1819) states that to compose good writing, it cannot be separated from grammar (as cited in Nunan, 1999, p. 96). There are two methods of teaching grammar, deductive and inductive methods. In the first, the researcher used inductive method. She would let the students to practice by themselves through jumbled words. After that, the researcher used deductive method. She would explain and ask the students to construct sentences on a particular topic. The researcher would like to apply putting sentences back together again as known as jumbled words to improve the students ability to construct simple sentences. Harmer (2007) states that grammar games will engage students and encourage them to use the target structures with enthusiasm (p. 223). The researcher implemented the grammar game to achieve the target structures which is constructing good simple sentences. To answer the research problems, the researcher used some theories from several experts about both games and grammar games. In 2003, Wright, Betteridge, and Buckby states that Games help and encourage many learners to sustain their interest and work (p. 2). Harmer (2007) states that Students might be motivated by the enjoyment of the learning process itself or by a desire to make themselves feel better. (p. 98). By using jumbled words which are included
26 in grammar game, the students learn the materials in a fun way. They would be enthusiastic in following the learning process. For that reason, using games in the class can stimulate the students interest. Therefore, they are willing to learn how to construct good simple sentences. The students are going to set their mind in the order of constructing good sentences and it leads the students to construct good simple sentences. The use of jumbled words is able to increase the students motivation since they learn the language in enjoyable way. According to Brewster and Ellis (2004), Games are not only motivating and fun but can also provide excellent practice for improving pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and the four language skills (p. 172). Games are good to be implemented in learning grammar because it is not only fun and motivating but it can also improve the students ability to construct simple sentences since there is repetition of the learning, so that the students will remember how to construct good sentences. As a result, they could improve their ability to construct simple sentences. In this research, the researcher used Classroom Action Research. The aim of this research was to improve the students ability to construct simple sentences. Kemmis and McTaggart (1982) note that action research has essential method that is trying out the ideas in practice as a means of improvement and as a means of increasing knowledge about the curriculum, teaching, and learning (p. 5). The researcher used spiral model of CAR (Classroom Action Research). The improvement was shown from the students writing.