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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