THE USE OF MIMING STORIES AS A TECHNIQUE IN TEACHING LISTENING TO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS (penelitian tindakan kelas/classroom action research)

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.1  Background of the Study

English is the most well known language  in the world. It is spoken as a first language by millions of people and used as a means of communication by many more all over the world. People in non-English speaking countries like Japan, China, Malaysia and Indonesia learn English as  a second or foreign language. We need English to get involved in international society.

Teaching English has existed in Indonesia for many years. It used to focus on vocabulary and grammar structures. Today  language use in social contexts is emphasized. Teachers are expected to help  students to be able to communicate in English. The language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing; must be taught integratively and holistically.

English subject has been introduced  for almost ten years in Indonesian elementary schools. It began to be applied at fourth grade. Because the characteristics of elementary school students are different from those of secondary school students, our government constructs curriculum, which is suitable for young children. English subject in elementary  school covers oral  communication ability limitedly in school context. Reading and writing skills are supposed to support oral communication learning (listening and speaking skills). The materials focus on language accompanying action. By learning English, elementary school students are expected to be able to use English to accompany action, participate in classroom and school interactions, and recognize simple written English.

In this study I focused on teaching listening to the fifth grade students of elementary school. Listening is the skill that children acquire first, especially if they have not yet learnt to read and write. Listening is different from hearing. In hearing we just perceive sounds with our ears. But when we are listening to something, there will be more complicated processes in our brain. So when children listen to the teacher, they will acquire the language and absorb the sounds and patterns of the language naturally (Slattery and Willis, 2001: 20). It implies that teacher should talk in English for all purposes in class, so students will imitate him.

Language learning is a hard task, which can sometimes be frustrating. In fact, most of our language learning comes from listening. At their age, children still find difficulty in learning their mother  tongue (Javanese)  and second language (Indonesian). So since English is a foreign language for Indonesian children, we must choose appropriate teaching methods  which will make them not afraid of English. 

 Children are often more enthusiastic and lively in learning something new. They will make an attempt to get involved in an activity even when they do not quite understand why or how. However, they also lose interest more quickly and they are \less able to keep themselves motivated on  tasks they find difficult. Therefore, they need interesting technique, which can keep them motivated in learning. Many forms of interesting techniques can be found easily like using songs, games and stories. For this study I chose to use stories as an alternative technique in teaching listening.

Story is one of the most familiar texts for children. Indonesia itself has many sophisticated kinds of traditional stories like fable, myth and legend. Our parents or grandparents often do storytelling, especially when we are going to bed. That is why most children love stories. Stories offer a whole imaginary world, created by language??????