THE USE OF ROLE PLAY TO IMPROVE STUDENTS’ TRANSACTIONAL AND INTERPERSONAL SPEAKING SKILL

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Speaking lesson is very important for students who learn a foreign language to enable students to speak and communicate in that language. Speaking is a part of communicative approach which is used in some activities to practice English communicatively. In this case, students are expected to speak more using role play. In role play the teacher is in charge of the mechanic who plays what role and who sits where.

Teacher should pay attention to their students’ speaking as stated by Bygate (1988: vii):  Speaking is a skill which deserves  attention every bit as much as literary skills, in both first and second languages. Our learners often need to be able to speak with confidence in order to carry out many of their most frequently judged, and through which they may make or lose friends. It is the vehicle part excellence of social solidarity, of social ranking, of professional advancement and of business. It is also a medium through which language is learnt, and which for many is particularly conducive or learning.

Teacher should help students to speak in class in order to have better fluency. He could do that by teaching his students with role play. Role play can be done by some ways. According to Bygate (1988: 69), role play is controlled through:

a.  cued dialogues

b.  cues and information

c.  situation and goals

d.  debate or discussion 

Therefore, the writer chooses cued dialogues to make it easier for students to practice speaking. They can practice  speaking by using role play in the classroom. The students can be divided into some groups to make it easier to do it. Holden (1981: 1) states that:  Anything can be done to make the learning process remote, and obviously transferrable to the world outside the classroom is to be welcomed.

Role play does not require much time. It gives motivation for the students in learning language especially in speaking. Students cannot predict what they will do in doing role play. Students should be interested and use their imagination and observation to make it better. They  are asked to communicate totally using English expressions and intonation. They should be active as actors. Students would pretend as other person while they are doing Role Play. It looks like drama. A person should act as if he were someone else or in another situation. Wooland (1993: 9) states: 

Drama is essentially a social art form. It is concerned with how individuals relate to the world they live in, how individuals interact with each other and with society in a wider sense.   Students are expected to be a good actor in a different situation. They should interact with another person and they could put their position in the right place. And it is expected that by using Role Play as a means of teaching speaking, the students will be more interested and more?? >????????