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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background In this section you need to present three items: (1) a brief introduction to the general area to be addressed by the study; (2) the problems to solve or condition to improve and their urgency to deal with; and (3) reason(s) for choosing the topic. In one to two paragraphs, introduce the general area to be addressed by the study. Use the description to create a sense of interest in the topic. In ELT research, these introductory paragraphs are usually written by showing the high importance of mastering English. The following example hopefully helps you write an introductory paragraph for your action research report. Triggered by the globalization era, English has been elected the most important language to master around the world. To help Indonesian young generation master the language, it has been made one of the compulsory subjects taught in primary school, high school and some semesters at university. In some regions, it has even been taught in kindergarten. It is expected that the sooner the children study English the better their mastery will be. Reveal the real problems and show why it is urgent to solve them. Use factual data (obtained by researchers observation or quoted from valid references) to support the urgency of carrying out studies to solve the problem. Relevant results of previous researches are also good to write here. Check these paragraphs. However, facilitating children study English sooner alone cannot guarantee better mastery. If the teaching of English to the young learners is not provided with well-designed curriculum, good teachers, appropriate media, and conducive learning environment the program will fail. Johans (2008) survey conducted in Jakarta reveals that 95% of 360 senior high school students who began learning English in primary school could not communicate better in English than their classmates who started English learning in senior high school. Shamiras (2005) study indicates that the major reason why senior high school students in Jakarta could not communicate in English was their poor vocabulary, and Wawans (2006) study exposes that the students in 25 primary schools felt that vocabulary learning is uninteresting due to the monotonous techniques and boring media. The present writers observation in SD Laut Teduh Jakarta revealed the same condition. The students are unenthusiastic to study English, including vocabulary. Their poor vocabulary causes them unable to comprehend simple sentences with simple words, not to mention to orally express something in English. In relation to these phenomena, the urgency for providing young learners English classes with
Outline of ELT Action Research Skripsi by Parlin Pardede (2012)

interesting techniques and media is very obvious. If we dont solve the problems, our students will never have appropriate amount of English vocabulary. This, in turn, will make them unable to communicate in English, as Nation (2001) stated that language learners need to know very large numbers of words to enable them to communicate in the language. Orlova (2003) noted that for the last two decades, the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) methodology has been actively considering the possibility of using music and songs in class. Based on her 10-year experience of incorporating songs in the language teaching, she claims the use of songs in language classes puts students at ease, makes them more attentive and can increase their desire to learn a language. Based on his longitudinal study, Lynch (2005) concluded that songs can offer an enjoyable speaking, listening, vocabulary and language practice. In line with them, Beare (2010) reported that using music in the beginning of a lesson is a great way to introduce new vocabularies to students. Before closing this background section, provide reason(s) for choosing the topic. Write a paragraph to accommodate this. The following sample might inspire you to write your own. Vocabulary teaching and learning is an integral part in the English Language Curriculum used in SD Laut Teduh. However, most students face difficulties when they read even simple sentence and communicate in English because they lack the needed English vocabulary. To help these students, it is significant to explore deeper on these difficulties as well as provide innovative ideas in order to improve the teaching and learning of vocabulary. In addition, as a student of English teaching study program, I have a great interest in this problem. Find solutions for the problem is very challenging to me.

B. Problem (s) Statement List 1 or 2 problems identified from the background in interrogative sentences. See the following. The problem to be tackled in this study is specifically formulated as follows: 1. Can songs effectively improve the students vocabulary mastery? 2. How do songs improve the students vocabulary mastery in teaching and learning process? C. Research Objectives Write down the specific, clear and to the point statements of intended outcomes from the research to undertake. Do this transforming the questions in the problem statement section into positive form. Look at the followings. The goal of this study is:
Outline of ELT Action Research Skripsi by Parlin Pardede (2012)

1. To see whether songs can effectively improve the students vocabulary mastery. 2. To investigate whether the students are interested in the use of blogs to develop writing skills. D. Research Significances List what advantages could be expected from the researchs result to as many parties as possible, e.g. to students involved in the study, to teaching practice, to ELT theories, and to the researchers themselves. E. Research Scope In one or two paragraph, describe the reason(s) for limiting the research factors. Then, describe the exact area of the research, such as period of time, the participants, unit of analysis (e.g., policy, programs, activities, actual behaviors etc.), method and instrument of data collection. Keep in mind that those items should be in line with the title. Finally, explain the impact of those limitations to the results and their applicability F. Operational Definitions Take some words from the title which you think could possibly be multiinterpreted by different readers (three to five terms will do) and define each of the words in accordance with the context of the study.

Outline of ELT Action Research Skripsi by Parlin Pardede (2012)

CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW, CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK, AND HYPOTHESIS

Start with an introductory paragraph in which you introduce what to present in this chapter. A. Literature Review Summarize relevant concepts provided by experts as references to the undertaken study. In this section you need to cite from some external scientific works which will add credibility to your ideas. However, any time you cite from external materials, you are required to identify the sources in the form of systematic references. However, any time you cite from external materials, you are required to identify the sources in the form of systematic references. This identification will not only give credit to the ideas and work of other scientists (and thus, prevent plagiarism) but also provide the readers with access to these sources. To get a guidelines for doing this, see Citing and Referencing in Research Papers. B. Conceptual Framework In one to two paragraphs relate the background to the problems and show how the action research conducted will hopefully provide solutions to the problems. C. Action Hypothesis (optional) State the action hypothesis in the form of if-conditional statement. See the following example: If songs are used in vocabulary teaching, the students achievement will increase.

Outline of ELT Action Research Skripsi by Parlin Pardede (2012)

CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

A. Research Method Briefly but concisely describe (two paragraph will suffice) the research method used i.e. action research. B. Research Setting and Subjects Features Explain where and how long the action research was conducted. Include description of the students group (the students year/class level, male and female composition, their families economical background, level of related language skills mastery, and any other aspects relevant to the study. C. Research Variables In this section, determine the variables that provided answers to the problems. The variables could be (1) the inputs related to the students, teachers, teaching materials, evaluation procedure, learning environments, etc.; (2) matters related to the teaching and learning process, such as classroom management, students learning strategies, teaching methods, etc.; or (3) output variables, like students ability to apply skills they have studied, students willingness to initiate further learning, etc. D. Action Plan In this section, describe the actions to be implemented, including the plan, action/implementation, observation, and reflection/analysis phases. The plan description includes the preparation of pre-test, lesson plan (teaching scenario), equipments preparation, and alternative solutions to be implemented. The action/ implementation description reveals the actions to be conducted, corrective action scenario, and the procedure of carrying out the action. The observation describes the procedure for collecting and interpreting the data. The description of reflection/analysis includes the data analysis procedure and the criteria and plan for conducting the next cycle. E. Data Collection Instrument and Technique In this section, describe how the data will be collected, including the specific technique, its procedure and the instruments for collecting data. If, for instance, the data will be collected using tests, describe the feature of the tests and how they will be
Outline of ELT Action Research Skripsi by Parlin Pardede (2012)

administered. Do the same to questionnaire, observation and interview if they will also be used. F. Data Analysis Technique Briefly but concisely describe the research data analysis technique to be used i.e. descriptive analysis and the statistical analysis (e.g. t-test)if one will be used. G. Data Triangulation Describe each of the data triangulation techniques to be used to guarantee the data validity. If, for instance, theoretical and time triangulation will be used, provide the rationale of employing them. H. Success Indicator Set up relevant and realistic success indicator for the action research. To do this, you should perceive as many as possible factors that affect the research. Setting up a too ambitious indicator may drive you into frustrated condition. On the other hand, if the indicator is too low, your action research will seem trivial. Look at the following. The success indicator of this 3 cycles reading comprehension development action research (taking place in about four months) is that at the end of the study the class achieves mean score of 7.5. This indicator determination is based on the fact that the class had never achieved mean score of 6.0 for reading comprehension. Increasing the mean-score of a class in reading comprehension from 6.0 to 7.5 is still reasonable, especially if the students aptitude is good, the learning facilities are sufficient, and the planned intervention in the action research is theoretically effective for enhancing reading comprehension skills. I. Research Procedure List the general steps of conducting the action research, beginning from the step of forming the research teamwork, asking permission from the school headmaster (if necessary), conducting the research, and writing the report.

Outline of ELT Action Research Skripsi by Parlin Pardede (2012)

CHAPTER IV RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

In a single paragraph, provide a comprehensive introduction to this chapter. List what you are going to present successively. The following is a sample of an introductory paragraph. This chapter presented the collected data during the action research and discussions on of them. The data were obtained through direct observations, observation sheet filled in by the observer(s) during the learning activities, pre-test and post-tests, interviews and questionnaire filled in by the subjects. (Make sure the data sources are consistent with what you wrote in section E of Research Methodology section explaining about the instruments).

A. Results In a single paragraph, describe the information you are going to present in this subsection. 1. Research Setting Description Briefly but concisely describe the research setting. Include any necessary elements of the school, classrooms, and its learning facilities relevant to your study. Make sure that the school authority (the principle and/or teacher in charge permit you to include these elements in this report).

2. Initial Condition of the Subjects Briefly but concisely describe the subjects (students) condition in terms of the topic your action research dealt with. For instance, if your action research aimed to develop the students vocabulary, illustrate how poor their vocabulary is by showing the pre-test results. Make sure the data has been processed, not in the form of raw data any more (the table of the raw data should be placed in appendix). Present them in table or graph. Explain also why such condition existed. The reason(s) you provide should be in line with the interventions (actions) you carried out in the study.

Outline of ELT Action Research Skripsi by Parlin Pardede (2012)

3. Developing Vocabulary Using English Comics (Suit the name of this subtitle to your action researchs topic) a. Cycle I Briefly but concisely report what you happen during the cycle I. Divide your report in terms of the steps of your action research. (i) Planning Report how you designed the activity plan of cycle I based on the initial conditions of the subjects. (ii) Acting How many sessions did you use for this stage? Report the time (days and dates) and relate each to what you, the students, and the observer did. Suit your report in this section in line with your action plan. If you found any special responses related to the action from the studentsbe they negative of positive, report them here. (iii) Observing Describe the observed points provided by your observer(s) in the observation sheet. If the observer(s) also provide additional but relevant information, include it. (iv). Reflecting Describe the points you reflect based on the information/data provided by the observer. It is also possible to ask the observer reflecting the actions to make the next cycle better. End your report of this cycle by presenting the results of post-test 1. Just like the pre test, make sure the data has been processed, not in the form of raw data any more (but refer the data to its raw form placed in the appendix). If you ask the students to fill in questionnaire and/or interview (some of) them, present the data in tables or graphs.

b. Cycle II (i) Planning

Outline of ELT Action Research Skripsi by Parlin Pardede (2012)

Report what adjustment(s) you made to the activity plan of cycle II based on the your own experiences and your observers suggestions derived from the implementation of cycle I.

(ii) Acting (See notes in the similar stage of cycle I) (iii) Observing (See notes in the similar stage of cycle I) (iv) Reflecting (See notes in the similar stage of cycle I)

At the end of this depiction of the action research implementation, provide logical reason why you conducted the study only until cycle 2, cycle 3, cycle 4, etc. For instance, suppose you ended the study at the end of cycle 2. In addition to what you stated in Chapter 3, the section of Action Plan, explain why you did not proceed to cycle 3, cycle 4, etc. In most cases, the best reason for this is that the success indicator(s) you set up in point 8 of Chapter 3 had been achieved.

4. Hypothesis Test Report the final result of the statistical calculation used to test the hypothesis. Based on these figures, state whether the action hypothesis is accepted or rejected.

B. Discussion 1. Research Setting Discuss interesting and relevant points concerning the research setting (elements of the school, classrooms, and its learning facilities related to your study). What changes emerged in the elements as the consequence of the study implementataion?

2. Condition of the Subjects Discuss changes occurred in the subjects (students) condition in terms of the topic your action research dealt with. Do they enjoy the learning process? Do they learn more enthusiastically? And so on.

Outline of ELT Action Research Skripsi by Parlin Pardede (2012)

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3. Vocabulary Development Using English Comics Compare interesting and relevant points obtained in each cycle. Direct them to show the learning improvements or progress resulted by the action from the initial condition to the end of cycle1, from cycle one to the end of to cycle 2, and so on. Depending on the focus of your action research, the learning improvements or progress may take place in the students attitudes (enthusiasm, diligence, interest, and so on) and/or learning achievement (as shown by the scores increase). Use the data obtained via observation sheet, questionnaires, and interviews conducted in each cycle to prove the progress or improvement. You should also refer these findings (the progress or improvement) to relevant theories provided in Chapter 2. The findings may justify, support, strengthen, or, on the other hand, reject or dispute. The following illustration is quoted from the descriptive analysis of an action research entitled Vocabulary Enrichment Using Pictures among Fifth Graders. The 40 items of the vocabulary test in each of post test-1 and post test-2 were designed to comprise of 20 concrete words and 20 abstract words. It was found that all students could do all the concrete word items correctly in both post test-1 and post test2, but none of them correctly answered all the abstract word items. This indicated that pictures are very effective to use for teaching concrete words but less valuable to teach abstract words. This is in line with McCarthys (2007) premise that pictures are insufficient media to illustrate the meaning of abstract words (p. 115) 4. Hypothesis Test Analysis Report based on the statistical calculation, whether the action hypothesis is accepted or rejected. After that, in some sentences express reasonable interpretation. In most cases, this statistical result is shown to support each other with the learning improvements described in the previously descriptive analysis section. Look at the following sample. Having analyzed the data of pre-test and post-test of cycle-2 by using t-test formula, the result shows that the coefficient is 13,420. It means that there is a significance increase in the students achievement in the teaching of vocabulary using colors. This means that the alternative hypothesis (Ha), which states that the teaching of vocabulary using colors can provide better achievement in students, is accepted, and the null hypothesis (Ho) which states the teaching of vocabulary using colors cannot provide better achievement in students is rejected.

Outline of ELT Action Research Skripsi by Parlin Pardede (2012)

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CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS AND RECCOMENDATIONS

A. Conclusions Briefly but concisely summarize the results you have presented in Chapter IV. As a practical guide, just remember that the conclusion(s), plain and simple, is (are) the answer (s) to the research question(s) and/or the hypothesis. After that, in another paragraph, interpret the findings, including the hypothesis test result, by indicating whether the results confirm, totally or in part, your original expectations or predictions.

B. Recommendations In this section, you finally have the opportunity to present and discuss the actions that future researchers should take as a result of your study. A well-thought-out set of recommendations makes it more likely that your readers will take your recommendations seriously. Ideally you should be able to make a formal recommendation regarding the alternative that is best supported by your action research. For instance, after finishing an action research focused on the teaching of vocabulary using colors, you could recommend to further study the topic among older students or by employing experimental researches.

Outline of ELT Action Research Skripsi by Parlin Pardede (2012)