CHAPTER
I
INTRODUCTION
1.1 General Background of the Study
Language
obviously plays a very important role in human life. People speak language to
convey messages, to show their feeling or to ask questions (Finocchiaro,
1973:6). Not only is it a means of communicating thoughts and ideas, but it
forges friendship, cultural ties, and economic relationships.
Language,
of course, is knowledge, and in our world today knowledge is one of the key
factors in competitiveness. Brain and
knowledge are what create the prosperity and growth we tend to take for
granted. There are many languages spoken by people all over the world. One of
them is English, which is spoken by people in most countries in the world. For
the last few years, millions of people across the world, who share common
interests, are able to communicate with each other and exchange ideas. Not only
are they able to do this due to the various technological advances, but also
because they share a common language. For that reason, it is important for
people to master English either actively or passively in order to communicate
and socialize in the world community.
English,
known as an international language, has been chosen by the Indonesian
government as the first foreign language. English is taught at school and considered
as a major subject for the students, mostly from the first grade of junior high
school up to the third grade of senior high school and one semester at
university. Some elementary schools have been given English from the fourth grade as a local content.
In
English there are four language skills; they are listening, speaking, reading and
writing. The students must master the four language skills so they can use English
actively and also passively. Writing as a part of the language skills, besides listening,
speaking, and reading, must be taught maximally by the teacher to the students.
Writing
has always been part of the syllabus in
the teaching of English. Writing is one of the media of communication. It is a
kind of skill that needs much practice. Harmer (2004:8) regards writing as
being different from speaking. According to Byrne (1980:24) writing is a
primary means of recording speech, even though it must be acknowledged as a
secondary medium of communication. Based on Competence Based Curriculum, the
eighth grade students of Junior High School get some of the genres such as narrative,
recount, anecdote and descriptive genres both spoken and written cycle. The
students often encounter problems in implementing the????????
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