CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

This chapter deals with the background of study, problem of study, objective
of study, significance of study, scope of study, research hypothesis, and operational
definition.
1.1

Background of the Study

As one of the language skills that should learned by second or foreign

language learners, the mastery of speaking is the most important aspect because the
success of learning a second or foreign language is measured in terms of the ablity to
carry out a conversation (Nunan, 1991: 39). Due to this reason, one of English
instructional objectives in Indonesia is to develop students communicative
competence both in spoken and written form in order to achieve the literacy level of
informational (KTSP, 2006). In addition, Komariah ( 2011: 53) cites that the current
teaching of English in Indonesia aims at enabling learners to communicate in English
both in written and oral form in certain literal level. It is expected that learners must
have communicative performance and competence in the target language.

However, Heriansyah (2012:37) reveales that for most foreign language

learners, speaking in the target language is not an easy thing to undertake because
learning to speak a foreign language requires more than knowing its grammatical and
semantics rules. This perception might be true because based on the researchers
preliminary research that she conducted at MAN Model Banda Aceh through
interview with some students, she found that the secondary learners still faced a
number of diffulties in learning speaking skill. The first problem faced by students in
speaking skill was they did not have sufficient vocabulary, because of this, it led to
speaking problems in English. As a result, they were difficult to express their ideas
when the teacher wanted them to speak in English. The second problem was the
students felt afraid if they made some mistakes when they conversed in English.
Therefore, many students were not confident to speak and take part in classroom
interaction. The third problem that the students faced in learning spekaing skill was
they had very limited time to practice their English because they only practiced their
English at school, and after they returned home from school they did not use English
anymore. Consequently, the students thought that their performance in English was
still low.
Futhermore, there was also another factor that made students had difficulties
in learning speaking skill, namely the method or the technique that the teacher used
in teaching speaking did not motivate them to speak. Therefore, teachers should use
one effective methodology for the teaching of speaking that can activate and
motivate students in learning speaking. One of the methodologies that is suggested to
be used to achieve the purpose of learning language communicatively is

Communicatie Language Teaching (CLT). Chang (2010) asserts that Communicative

Language Teaching (CLT) advocates teaching practices that develop learners
abilities to communicate in a second language. Meanwhile, Freeman (1986:131)
states that the goal of communicative approach is to have students become
communicatively competence. Furthermore, she explains that communicative
competence involves being able to use the language appropriately to a given social
context. To do this, students need knowledge of the linguistics form, meaning, and
function. In general, the objective of the use of this method is to have students
communicate fluently in a target language in the real situation.
In relation to the technique in teaching speaking skill, role play is one of the
techniques that can be used for this purpose. According to Freeman (2000: 137), role
plays are very important in CLT method because it gives students an opportunity to
practice communicating in different social contexts and in different social roles. In
addition, Brown (2004: 174) states that:
Role playing is a popular activity in communicative languageteaching classes. Within constraints set forth by the guidelines, it
frees students to be somewhat creative in their linguistic output. In
some versions, role play allows some rehearsal time so that students
can map out what they are going to say and it has the effect of
lowering anxieties as students can, even for a few moments, take on
the person of some one other than themselves.
Many research findings showed that this technique is effective to be used in
teaching speaking. One of them is the study conducted by Adriyati (2009: 221),
revealed that role play can improve students speaking skill because they can interact
each other.

Based on the explanation above, the researcher is interested in conducting a

study on the implementation of role play technique in teaching speaking for the
students of the second year in MAN Model Banda Aceh.
1.2

Problem Formulation
From the explanation above, the research question in this study can be

formulated as follows:
Does the use of role play technique improve students performance in English
speaking ability?
1.3

Research Objective
The research objective of this study is to examine whether the use of role play

technique improve students performance in English speaking ability.

1.4

Research Significance
The result of this research is expected to have theoretical significance and

practical significance. For the theoritical significance, it is expected to enrich the

theories of references that deal with teaching speaking and it is also hoped that this
study can give more meaning and deeper understanding generally for the readers and
especially for the English teachers for the innovative and creative methods that can
be applied in teaching speaking.
For practical significance, this study is expected to give positive contribution
and meaning to the readers and teachers about how to use role play technique in
improving students speaking ability.

1.5

Reseacrh Scope
The scope of this research focused on the implementation of teaching

speaking by using CLT method, while the technique used in this study was one of the
CLT techniques, namely role play .
1.6

Research Hypothesis
Alternative hypothesis (Ha): There is a significant difference between students

who are taught by using role play technique with students who are not taught by
using role play technique.
Null hypothesis (Ho): There is no a significant difference between students
who are taught by using role play technique with students who are not taught by
using role play technique.
1.7 Operational Definition
1.7.1 Speaking
In this study, speaking refers to a language skill (of the four common language
skills) which is taught as a school subject. This skill should be mastered by the
students in order to achieve the curriculum expectation. The speaking indicators that
the researcher was looking at grammar, vocabulary, fluency, pronunciation, and
comprehension.
1.7.2

Role-play Technique
Mustafa (2011:71) reveals that role play is when students portray roles of

particular types of people, for example, a principal, a teacher, a father, a driver, or a

customer.

CHAPTER II
LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter comprises review of literature. The review deals with the
definition of speaking, basic types of speaking, teaching speaking, definition of role
play, types of role play, role play in teaching speaking, how to teach using role play,
the procedures in using role play, the role of teacher and students in role play
activities, and significance of role play.

2.1
2.1.1

Speaking
Definition of Speaking
Bailey and Nunan (2005:2) assert that speaking is an interactive process of

constructing meaning that involves producing and receiving and processing

information. It can be perceived that speaking is a kind of interaction process
involving two or more people (as speaker(s) and listener(s)) in order to convey and
receive the intended information. Therefore, in this case, the people involving in the
interaction process should strive to speak clearly so that the information can be
conveyed and accepted as expected.
6

Moreover, Burn and Joyce (1999 cited in Heriansyah, 2008: 11) explain that
speaking is an active process of negotiating meaning and using social knowledge of
situation. It means that the speaker and interlocutor have to understand each other
about the topic that they are speaking or discussing so that the conversation can go
well.
Additionally, Nunan (1999: 228) says that based on its function, speaking is
defined as a way to verbally communicate for mostly interactional and somewhat
transactional purposes. Brown and Yule (1983: 21) made a useful disticntion between
the interactional functions of speaking, in which it serves to establish and mantain
social relations, and the transactional functions, which focus on the exchange of
information. Thus, speaking is a great component in communication; it has an
important role in transfering ideas, opinions, intentions and information to others.
Burnkat (1998, quoted in Heriansyah, 2012: 37) points out that language
learners need to have three areas of knowldege involved within speaking namely (1)
mechanics of language elements (pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary), which
emphasize on the use of right words in the right order with the correct pronunciation,
(2) the functions of language that deals with speaking performance in the form of
transaction and interaction (e.g. knowing how to change infromation and giving the
clarity of essential message), (3) the sociocultural norms (such as turn-taking, rate of
speech, lenght of pauses between speakers relative roles of participants,
undersatnding how to take into account who is speaking to whom, in what
circumstance, about what, and for what reason).
2.1.2

Basic Types of speaking

7

There are a lot of activities in the classrooms that have been oriented to
speaking for real communication. The activities are conducted merely for giving
students opportunities to practice speaking. In his book, Brown (2004: 141) divides
the basic types of speaking into 5 categories as follows:
1. Imitative
Imitative is the ability to simply imitate a word or phrase or possibly a
sentence. While this is a purely phonetic level of oral production, a number of
prosodic, lexical, and grammatical properties of language may be included in the
criterion performance.
2. Intensive
Intensive is the production of short stretches of oral language designed to
demonstrate competence in a narrow band of grammatical, phrasal, lexical, or
phonological relationship (such as prosodic elements-intonation, stress, rhythm,
juncture). Examples of intensive include reading aloud, sentence and dialogue
completion. In this type, the speaker must be aware of semantic properties in order to
be able to respond, but interaction with an interlocutor is minimal at best.
3. Responsive
Responsive includes interaction and test comprehension but at somewhat
limited level of very short conversation, standard greetings and small talk, simple
request and comments.
4. Interactive
The different between responsive and interactive speaking is in the length and
complexity of the interaction, which sometimes includes multiple exchanges and/or
multiple participants. Some examples of interactive speaking are interview,
discussion, games, and role-play.
5. Extensive

Extensive type includes speeches, oral presentations, and story-telling during

which the oportunity for oral interaction from listener is either highly limited or ruled
out altogether. This type needs more action and interaction to the listeners.
2.1.3 Teaching Speaking
Brown (2000:7) states that teaching is showing or helping someone to learn
how to do something, giving instructions, guiding in the study of something, proving
with the knowledge, causing to know or understand. Similarly, teaching speaking
means the process of teaching students knowledge about the target language and skill
in using the knowledge orally in communication. This is in line with what Nurmaida
(2011: 79) clarifies that teaching speaking means teaching students to involve in
target language, since speaking course cannot be separated from conversation itself.
So, students will be directly involved in speaking activities whenever they are
conducting a conversation.
Kayi (2006:1) states that there are several meanings of teaching speaking as
follows:
1. Produce the English speech sounds and sounds patterns.
2. Use words and sentence stress, intonation patterns and the rhythm
of the second language.
3. Select appropriate words and sentences according to the proper
social setting, audience, situation and subject matter.
4. Organize the students thoughts in a meaningful and logical
sequence.
5. Use language as a means of expressing values and judgments.
6. Use the language quickly and confidently with few unnatural
pauses, which is called as fluency.

From the above standpoints, it can be understood that teaching speaking

should enhance students communication skills, because only by improving students
speaking ability can they express themselves and learn how to follow the social and
cultural rules that are appropriate in each communication circumstance. Therefore, an
English teacher has posses sufficient knowledge and understanding toward learning
materials that she will teach. Furthermore, he/she should be able to select an
appropriate teaching methodology to be used in teaching the materials as well
classroom learning activities that can motivate students to learn. Hence, they will feel
enjoy during the class and keep on practicing their speaking ability.
Regarding the importance of the teachers role in teaching speaking, Kayi
(2006:5) suggests some things for the English language teachers. They are as
follows:
1. Reducing teacher speaking time in the classroom while increasing
students speaking time.
2. Do not correct students pronunciation mistakes very often while
they are speaking because correction can not distract student from
his or her speech.
3. Circulating around the classroom to ensure that students are on the
right track and see whether they need teachers help while they
work in groups, pair or not.
4. Providing the vocabulary beforehand that students need in speaking
activities.
5. Diagnosing problems that are faced by students who have difficulty
in expressing themselves in the target language and provide more
opportunities to practice the spoken language.
6. Trying to involve each student in every speaking activity.
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7. Providing maximum opportunity to student to speak the target

language by providing a rich

environment that contains

collaborative work, authentic materials and tasks, and shared

knowledge.
8. Indicating positive signs when commenting on a students response.
9. Involving speaking activities not only in the classroom but also out
of class by contacting parents and other people who can help.
Based on the explanation above, in creating the students confidence in
conveying their ideas, the teacher should understand well how to create a good
learning atmosphere which includes relationship between teacher and students,
enjoyable classroom atmosphere, and the freedom for students to convey their ideas
and perform in front of the class.
There are many activities to promote speaking. As Kayi (2006: 2-5) inferred
from many linguists that there are thirteen activities to promote speaking, they are
discussion, simulations, information gap, brain storming, story-telling, interviews,
story completion, reporting, playing cards, picture narrating, picture describing, find
the differences, and role play.
2.2

Role Play

2.2.1

Definition of Role Play

In defining role play, the writer views that role play is a technique which

involves fantasy or imagination to be someone else or to be ourselves in a specific

situation for a while, improvising dialogue and creating a real world in scenario.
Ladousse (1995: 5) points out that when students assume a Role, they play a part
(either their own or somebody elses) in specific situation. Play means being on in

11

a safe environment in which students are as an inventive and playful as possible.

According to Ardriyati (2009: 219) a role play is a kind of life game that has a goal,
rules, and involves a feeling of fun. Furthermore, she also explains that in role play
the students are put in a certain atmosphere outside of the class. Bailey and Nunan
(2005:52) mention that a role play is a speaking acitvity in which the students take
the part of other people and interact using the characteristics of those people (for
instance, age, gender occupation, and so on). Morever, they also explain that role
play includes a particular communicative task, such as negotiating a purchase,
solving a problem, making a reservation, getting information, and so on. In addition,
Mustafa (2011: 71) highlights that role play is when students potray roles of
particular type of people, for example, a principal, a teacher, a father a driver, or a
customer.
Another definition stated by Murcia (2001 : 107) on role play is particularly
suitable for practicing the sociocultural variations in speech act, such as
complimenting, complaining, and the like. Rebecca (2009, cited in Ardriyati,
2009:220) asserts that in most role-playing exercises, each student takes the role of a
person affected by an issue and studies the impacts of the issues on human life and/or
the effects of human activities on the world around us from the perspective of that
person. Livingstone (1989) describes that role-plays provide students the specific
information and the role to act. The students are required to act based on the roles
given. They cannot add their own opinion or personal view to the roles. In
conclusion, role-play is a possibly effective way to improve speaking proficiency of
the students. The activity not only creates the opportunities for the students to

12

communicate, but also establishes the collaborative learning atmosphere which

encourages them to develop strategies to overcome problems that occur when
performing their role play. This directly prepares the students to face communication
in real life.
2.2.2

Types of Role Play

Ladousse (1995: 13) explains that there are several types of roles. The first

type is the roles which correspond to a real need in the students life. Roles as doctors
dealing with patients, or salesman traveling abroad are two roles that can be taken as
the examples for this type. The second type is the students play themselves in a
variety of situations which may or may not have direct experience. The example of
this type is a customer complaining or a passenger asking for information.
The third type is the roles that few students do not have the experience
directly towards the roles, but it is still possible to play because the teachers have
such vast indirect experience of them. The television journalist is a good example of
this type and it is a very useful kind of role taken from real life. The last type of roles
is fantasy roles, which are fictions, imaginary, and possibly even absurd. Snow
white story is one of the examples that can be used in this type of role play.
There are two broad types of role play activities often used in English
language classrooms: scripted and non-scripted role plays. To perform role-plays of
the scripted type, the students will have to work in pairs or small groups. They are
given prompts related to the target scenarios. Then, they will have to use the prompts
as the model to form the target dialogue. The students rehearse that dialogue before
performing it in front of the class. In the non-scripted role play, on the other hand, the

13

students are assigned to perform the role play activity in front of the class based on
the prompts given without preparing or writing the script in advance.

2.2.3

Role Play in Teaching Speaking

Nowadays, many linguists and English as Second Language (ESL) teachers

agree that students learn to speak in the second language by interacting and
communicating. Communicative Language Teaching is one of methodology which is
suggested to be used to enhance students speaking skill. Harmer (2007 cited in
Heriansyah, 2009) remarks that CLT aims to improve the students ability to
communicate. In CLT, language is considered as a means of communication and
learners will learn faster when they use the target language directly. It means that by
practicing the language they will be able to speak. In general, the writer conclude
that the learning outcome intended to achieve through this method is that learners can
communicate fluently in the target language.
Role play is one of activity types that is used in Communicative Language
Teaching. This is in line with what Richards (2005: 21) states that many other
activity types have been used in CLT, among them are the following:
1. Task-completion activities
Puzzles, games, map-reading and other kinds of classroom tasks in
which the focus on using ones language resources to complete a task.
2. Information gathering activities
Students did surveys, interviews and searches in which students are
required to use their linguistic resources to collect information.

14

3. Opinion-sharing activities
Activities where students compare values, opinions, beliefs, such as a
ranking task in which students lists six qualities in order of importance which
they might consider in choosing a date or spouse.
4. Information-transfer activities
These require learners to take information that is presented in one
form, and represent it in a different form. For instance, they may read
instructions on how to get from A to B, and they draw a map showing the
sequence, or they may read information about a subject and then represent it
as a graph.
5. Reasoning-gap activities
These involve deriving some new information from given information
through the process of inference, practical reasoning, etc, for example,
working out a teachers timetable on the basis of given class timetables.
6. Role-plays
Activities in which students are assigned roles and improvise a scene
or exchange based on given information or clues.
As mentioned above, the students in CLT classroom settings are well engaged
in communicative activities that provide them the opportunity to use the target
language in communication with each other, and role-play is one of the most popular
communicative activities used in the CLT classroom.
The roles of teachers and learners in the CLT classroom are explained clearly
by Richards (2005: 20). He says that learners in this classroom have to participate in
the classroom activities based on a cooperative rather than individualistic approach to
learning. He added that students have to become comfortable with listening to their
peers in group work or pair work tasks rather than relying on the teacher for a model.
15

They are expected to take on a greater degree of responsibility for their own learning.
He also adds that the teachers in this classroom have to assume the role of facilitator
or monitor. Rather than being a model of correct speech and writing and one with the
primary responsibility of making students producted plenty of error free sentences,
the teacher also had to develop a different view of learners errors and of her/his own
role in facilitating language learning. Since role play is one of the activity types that
is used in CLT, thus the teachers who apply role play in teaching speaking have to
perform the roles and also encourage the students to do such roles that have been
stated above.
2.2.4

How To Teach Using Role Play

The teacher needs to decide the context for the exercise and the roles that the

students will play. If the students are taking human roles, the context is generally a
specific problem such as working in an office or dealing with persons. Lessons need
to be carefully explained and supervised in order to involve the students and to
enable them to learn as much as possible from the experience. However, a well-done
scenario never runs the same way twice, teaches people things they might not
ordinarily have learned, and tends to be fun for all involved. Role-playing exercises
can be hard work for the instructor, both in preparation and in implementation, but
the work tends to pay off in terms of student motivation and accomplishment
(Adriyati, 2009: 221). Therefore, as cited in Adriyati (2009:22) the teacher should
consider the following points:
1. Define Objectives. The details of what you need to do depend entirely on why
you want to include role-playing exercises in a class.

16

What topics do you want the exercise to cover?

How much time do you and your class have to work on it?

What do you expect of your students: reports, presentations?

Do you want the students role-playing separately or together?

2. Choose context and roles. The teacher decides on a problem related to the
chosen topics of study and a setting for the characters. It is a good idea to make
the setting realistic, but not necessarily real. If the characters(s) used in the
exercise are people, define his or her goals and what happens if the character
does not achieve them.
3. Introduce the Exercise. Engage the students in the scenario by describing the
setting and the problem. The teacher provides the students with the information
he has already prepared about the characters, the goals and background
information. It needs to be clear to the students. Outline goals that the teacher
expects the students to learn in this lesson.
2.2.5

The Procedures in using role play

Huang (2008) usually teaches speaking through role play activities and uses

six major steps in the procedure.

1. Decide on the Teaching Materials
The teacher must decide which teaching materials will be used for role play
acitivities. The teaching materials can be taken from text books or no-textbook such
as picture books, story books, readers, play-scripts, comic strips, movies, cartoons,
and pictures. The material is selected ahead of time by the teacher. The teacher can

17

also create his or her own authentic teaching materials for role play activities. The
teaching materials should be decided based on students level and interest, teaching
objectives and appropiateness for teaching.
2. Select Situations and Create Dialogs
Situation to be role played should be selected. For every role play situation,
dialogs should be provided (by the teaching materials or by the teacher) or created by
the student themselves.
3. Teach the Dialogs for Role Plays
The teacher needs to teach the vocabulary, sentences, and dialogs neccesary
for the role play situations. The teacher need to make sure the students know how to
use vocabulary, sentences and dialogs before doing role play activities, otherwise, the
teacher should allow students to ask how to say the words they want to say.
4. Have Students Practice the Role Plays
Students can pratice in pairs or in small group. After they have played their
own roles a few times, have them exchange roles. That way, students can play
different roles and practice all of the lines in the role play. When students are
confident enough to demonstrate or perform in front of the class, the teacher can ask
them to do so for their classmates.
5. Have Students Modify the Situations and Dialogs
Once students have finished and become familiar with an original role play
situation, they can modify the situations and/or dialogs to create a variation of the
original role play.
6.

Comprehension

18

Finally, the teacher shall evaluate the effectiveness of the role play acitivities
and check if students have succeefully comprehend the meanings of the vocabulary,
sentences, and dialogs. There are several ways to do students evaluations. Students
can be given oral and listening test relating to the role plays. The example of oral
tests can be in the following way: students are asked to answer some simple
questions relating to the role plays, students are asked to reenact the role plays,
students are asked to translate the role plays into their native language.
The above procedures are not the exact model to be used. It is flexible. A
teacher can create procedures which are appropiate and suitbale for his-her own class
including different levels of students ability in the classroom.
2.2.6

The Role of Teacher and Student in Role Play Activities

Nga (2011: 2-3) contends that in this kind of activities the teacher is less

dominant but by no means less important than in the traditional classroom activities.
He is a facilitator of the communicative process in which he may play the roles of
instructor of language items, organizer of the role-play activity, error-corrector,
passive viewer, and consultant. He may also take part in the role play activities as a
co-communicator, or observe the students performance for planning future activities.
In addition, Adriyati (2009: 222) highlights that some of the possible teacher roles in
role play, are :
a. Facilitator

: Students may need new language to be given by the teacher.

If rehearsal time is appropriate, the giving in of new language should take

place at this stage.

19

b. Spectator

: The teacher watches the role play and offers comments and

advice at the end.

c. Participant

: It is sometimes appropriate to get involved and take part in

the role play himself.

The roles of students have changed since the invention of Communicative

Teaching Approach. According to Morrow, (1977: 71, cited in Nga, 2011:2-3), the
learner is now concerned with using language, not English usage. In order to do this,
learners take on roles and interact with other learners who also have roles. What they
say is determined by the roles they play, their communicative intentions and the
contribution of the other learners.
2.2.7

Significance of role play

It has been mentioned before in the above discussion that role play is one of

the activities to promote speaking. By implementing role play technique the students
learn how to express ideas, opinions, or feeling to others by using words or sounds of
articulation. Ladousse (1995: 6-7) explains that role play uses different
communicative techniques and develops fluency in the language. Moreover, Bailey
and Nunan (2005:52) assert that role plays can be excellent procedures for helping
students learn and practice important speech acts, vocabulary, and grammatical
structures. It is important for the teacher to set up role play that are realistic,
plausible, and related to the students need.

Role play can improve learners

speaking skill in any situation, helps learner to interact and motivate them to speak
by their own words. It is beneficial in teaching speaking because of five reasons as

20

stated by Ladousse (1995-6-7) as follows: first, a very wide variety of experience can
be brought into the classroom and we can train our students in speaking skill in any
situation through role play. Second, role play puts students in situation in which they
are required to use and develop those phatic forms of language which are so
necessary in oiling the works of social relationship. Third, some people are learning
English to prepare for specific roles in their lives. It is helpful for these students to
have tried out and experimented with the language they will require in the friendly
and safe environment of a classroom. Fourth, role play helps many shy students by
providing them with a mask. Fifth, perhaps the most important reason for using role
play is that fun.
Snarski (2007: 3-5) explained that there are five advantages in applying role
play technique in the language classroom, they are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Whole class participation

Integrated observation task
Varying proficiency levels
Pragmatic practice
Critical thinking skill
Graves (2008:7) mentions that role-playing activities help introduce student

to real-world situations. In addition, role playing can be used as an effective

assessment tool. When the students are presenting their role play, it will be easy to
know if they have grasped the grammar point, content, vocabulary, or other new
information presented to them. They will display what they have learned and present
that knowledge to the class.
2.2.8 The Disadvantages of Role Play

21

As mentioned above, role play is an effective technique to be used in teaching

spaking. However, this technique also has some weaknesses in teaching speaking.
Sam (1990) points out that some the disadvantages of role play as follow:
1. Activity is artificial
Richards (1985) observed that although role-play is supposed to provide
authentic situations for students to use language, the situations sometimes created
were artificial and not relevant to the needs of the students.
2. Activities are difficult to monitor
With so much activity both physical and verbal going on, it is sometimes
difficult for the teacher to monitor a student's performance. There is the fear among
teachers that the students are having too much fun and that no learning is taking
place.
3. Causes embarrassment
In some situations, especially among adult learners, role-play and simulation
activities cause a lot of embarrassment, awkwardness and very little spontaneous
language use. The choice of appropriate roles for different students is thus very
important.

4. Encourages incorrect forms

Since the teacher is not encouraged to correct mistakes immediately so as not
to discourage students, this provides opportunities for learners to produce and
practise ungrammatical and inappropriate forms.

22

5. Has cultural bias

According to Richards (1985), these activities are more suited for learners
from cultures where drama activities and learner - directed activities in teaching is
common. in cultures where the teacher-dominated classroom is still the norm, the
learners may not respond willingly to the activities.
6. Teachers' fear of losing control
Since the activities require the full participation of the students and minimum
participation from the teacher, the teacher may fear that he may lose control of the
class. Furthermore the students may get carried away and become disruptive.
7. Spontaneity is lost
Very often the students get too caught up with WHAT to say. They hesitate to
choose their words and do not interact spontaneously.
8. Timing lessons is difficult
The teacher has to spend a lot of time in preparation work especially for
simulations. He is not able to predict the amount of class time that will be taken to
carry out the activity since the ability of each class varies.
9. Activities may not be suitable for all levels
Role-play and simulation involve a lot of conversation and discussion. Thus it
may not be very suitable for low proficiency students who do not have the necessary
communicative competence to carry out the activity. These activities would be more
suitable for intermediate and advanced learners.

23

The above disadvantages however can be solved if careful thought and

planning could be given before the activities are used in the classroom. The teacher
himself/herself must be convinced of the effective use of these activities if he/she
wants to encourage students to have a positive attitude towards these novel ideas in
language learning.

CHAPTER III
RESEARCH DESIGN

24

This chapter deals with research methodological procedures. This includes

research method, population and sample, research instrument, technique of data
collection, and technique of data analysis
3.1

Research Method
The research design used in this study is quantitave research. Arikunto (2006:

12) states Quantitative research is a kind of research required the use of numbers,
ranging from data collection, data interpretation and the appearance of the results.
While the approach used in this research is the experimental study with true
experimental design type of pre test and post test control group design. According to
Brog and Gall (1993), this design involves two groups, in which for one group
(experimental class) is given the treatment while the other group (control class) is not
given a treatment. The treatment is made to experimental class in order to find out
the effect of the given treatment.
The method that the researcher used to collect the data in this study was test.
In terms of this Ary et.al (2006: 218) explain that a test is a set of stimuli presented to
an individual in order to elicit responses on the basis of which a numerical score can
be assigned.
The test is considered good if it has two characteristics namely validity and
reability. According to Ary et.al (2006: 243), validity is defined as the extent to
which an instrument are measured what it claimed to be measured. While a test is
considered realiable if you give the same test or match students on two different
occasions, the test should yield the same result (Brown, 2004: 20).
3.2

Population and Sample

25

This research was conducted in MAN Model Banda Aceh. This school is
located at Syiah Kuala Street, Jambo Tapee, Banda Aceh. Relating to the population
of this research, the second year students of MAN Model Banda Aceh were chosen
as the population in this study. There were ten classrooms for this grade, while the
samples of this study were class XI 3 Science Class as an experimental class and XI 2
Science Class as a control class. There were 29 students in XI3 Science and 30
students in XI2 Science. They were selected by using random sampling with the
assumption each individual in the population has an equal probability of being
selected (Creswell, 2003:156).
The procedure of selecting sample in this study were carried out by means of
two steps. First, the researcher wrote all the names of the classes on a small piece of
paper and put them into a small box. Second, the researcher shook the box and took
two pieces of papers. The paper that was taken first became the experimental class
and the other was control class.
3.3

Reseacrh Instruments
As mentioned earlier, the method used to collect the data in this study is

through the test. Meanwhile, the instrument used to elicit the data in relation to
students speaking performance is oral test.
Pertaining to the validity of the test, the researcher collaborated with the
English teacher to design the content of the test. From our discussions, the teacher
recommended the researcher to choose one of the learning materials related to the
function of language namely the use of expression of satisfaction and
dissatisfaction. The English teacher considered the students still did not know how

26

to use these expressions well. The learning material and the sample of the test were
taken from the book entitled Look Ahead and Developing Competencies.
Regarding the reability of the test, the researcher had previously given the
oral test to both groups as a pilot study at different time before this study was
conducted.
3.4

Technique of Data Collection

Concerning to the procedure of data collcetion in this study, they can be

explained as follows:
At the first meeting, the researcher gave the pre test for the experimental
group on 30 September 2013 while the pre test for control group was given on 3
October 2013. The purpose of this test was to know students speaking ability
between two groups. After the researcher gave the pre test to both groups, then she
conducted some experimental teachings for the experimental group by using role
play technique; meanwhile, the control group were not taught by using this
technique.
On the second meeting, the researcher started her research by teaching
students in the experimental class through role play technique. In this meeting the
topic that she discussed was about expressing satisfaction and dissatisfaction. The
researcher taught students and gave clear explanation about these expressions and
also gave the example in the form of dialog how to use them in English conversation.
After that, the researcher asked the students to sit in their group and practice with
each other. After the students practiced in their group, then they performed the
dialog given to them in front of the class.

27

On the third meeting, the researcher taught the students like on the second
meeting but she reviewed the learning materials that the students had learned in the
previous meeting, and tried to help students if they were any vocabulary that they did
not know while practicing in conversation, including to correct some grammatical
errors and miss pronunciations made by students.
Finally, on the fourth meeting the researcher administred the post test to the
experimental class to find out whether there was any improvement on students
speaking ability from the implementation of role play technique. She was also gave
the post test to control class although the students in this group did not receive the
treatment from the researcher.
To elicit the data regarding the students speaking skill from both groups, the
researcher used the tool which recorded the students performance namely digital
camera. The test was given to the students in the form of oral test. During this study,
the reseracher was helped by her friend to record the students activities, while the
researcher assessed their performance when they conducted the conversation
practice. In addition, in assessing their speaking performance, the researcher was also
helped by the English teacher in this school.
3.5

Technique of data analysis

To analyze the results of students speaking performance, the researcher used

the five criteria proposed by Brown (2004: 172) in assessing speaking skill namely:
(1) grammar, (2) vocabulary, (3) comprehension, (4) fluency, (5) pronunciation. Each
component was given 4 as the maximum score and 1 as the minimum score.

28

Therefore, if a student got 4 for each component, so the total score that he/she gets is
20 then multiplied by 5 (for the whole components of speaking) which became 100.
After the data was collected, then they were calculated by using some
statistical procedures which were taken from Sudjana (2002). The procedures are as
follows:
(1) The range (R)
The calculation of the Range (R) is by finding the highest score and the lowest
score of speaking performance through the application of role play technique.
R = the highest score the lowest score
(2) The amount of class interval (K)
The amount of class interval class is computed by applying the following
formula:
K= 1 + (3,3) log n
Where,
K = amount of class interval
n = Number of Samples
(3) The Length of Interval Class (P)
To calculate the length of interval class, the researcher applied the formula as
follows:

29

P=

R
K

Where,
P = The length of interval class score
R = Range score
k = Interval class score
(4) The mean ( x )
The mean ( x

) is used to find the average score of the whole respondents

on speaking performance test. It is computed by dividing the sum of all scores by the
number of scores. According to Sudjana the formula employed for this compution is:

x =

f i xi
fi

(5) The standard deviation

The standard deviation (S), the square root of variance, is the most frequently
as a measure of spread or dispersion of score in a distribution. To find the standard
deviation, the researcher used the formula as follow:
S=

n f i x 2i ( f i x i )
n ( n1 )

Where,
S= Standar deviation
And the formula of standard deviation (the combination of variance)
is:

30

S=

( n11 ) s21 + ( n 21 ) s 22
n 1+ n22

To prove the hypothesis, the researcher analyzed the data by using t-test
formula by Sudjana (2002:239) as follows:
x1 x2
t=

S gab

1 1
+
n1 n2

Where:
t

= significance comparative coefficient

x1

x 2

= mean score of class XI science3

= mean score of class XI science 2

= the combination of the two standard deviation

n1= the number of students of XI Science Class
3
n2

= the number of studens XI2 Science Class

To interprate the significance of t-score, the researcher compared the t-score

with t-table and the researcher also had to find the degrees of freedom by using:
df= (n1+n2-2)
where,
31

df= degress of freedom

n1= the samples of the first variable
n2= the samples of the second variable

There are two rules to compare the t-score and t-table according to Sudjana
(2002:284):
1. If t-score equal or higher than critical t-score or t, so the null hypothesis is
rejected, and the alternative hypothesis is accepted. This means that there are
significant differences between the experimental class and control class.
2. If t-score is lower that critical t-score or t, so the null hypothesis is accepted
and the alternative hypothesis is rejected. This means there is no significant
different between the experimental and control class.

32

CHAPTER IV
RESEARCH RESULT AND DISCUSSION

Thic chapter presents the research results and discussions. This includes
research results, the result of students pre-test and post-test scores of EC, the result
of students pre-test and post-test scores of CC, hypothesis testing, discussion.

33

4.1 Research Result

The following part present the results of students pre-test and post-test scores
for experimantal class (EC) in the following Table 4.1.1.1. Further explanation
related to students scores for each speaking criteria can be seen on Appendix 3.
4.1. 1 The Result of Students Pre-Test and Post Test Scores of EC
Table 4.1.1.1 Students Pre-Test and Post Test Scores of EC

N
o

Students initial

Pre-Test

Post-Test

AMK

45

60

CNF

55

75

DM

50

75

DN

55

70

FM

55

70

FR

55

90

FAM

45

75

HK

60

90

IA

45

50

10

KA

60

90

11

LM

35

40

12

MIR

25

65

13

MFI

35

30

34

14

MF

55

75

15

NA

45

50

16

NFH

45

80

17

NF

50

95

18

PA

50

100

19

RF

25

75

20

RK

45

70

21

40

75

22

SN

40

70

23

SV

25

70

24

TMI

25

70

25

UF

55

70

From the table above, the highest score of pre test for EC is 60, while the
lowest score of pre test is 25. For the post test, the highest score in EC is 100 and the
lowest score is 30.
Frequency distribution for the pre-test score of EC obtained as follows:
Range (R)

= 60- 25
= 35

The Amount of Class Interval (K)

= 1 + 3,3 log 25
= 1 + 3,3 (1,39)
35

= 1 + 4,587
= 5,587

Length of Interval Class (P) =

35
6

= 5,83 6

Table 4.1.1.2 The Table of Distribution of pre test for EC

2

f i xi

Score

fi

xi

25-30

27,5

756,25

110

3025

31-36

33,5

1122,25

67

2244,5

37-42

39,5

1560,25

79

3120,5

43-48

45,5

2070,25

273

12421,5

49-54

51,5

2652,25

154,5

7956,75

55-60

57,5

3306,25

460

26450

Total

25

1143,5

55218,25

X =

f i xi

fi

xi

f i xi

1143,5
=45,74
25

n f i x 2i ( f i x i)
sa =
n ( n1 )

36

25 ( 55218,25 ) (1143,5 )2
25 ( 251 )

s a 2=

1380456,251307592,25
600

sa =

72864
600

s a =121,44

s a= 121,44

11,01

Based on the calculation above, the mean of pre test for EC ( x ) = 45,74

( sa2 )=121,44

and (

sa

) = 11,01

While, frequency distribution for the post-test score of EC is obtained as

follows:
Range (R)

= 100-30
= 70

The Amount of Class Interval (K)

= 1 + 3,3 log 25
= 1 + 3,3 (1,39)
= 1 + 4,587

37

= 5,587

Length of interval class (P)

70
6

P = 11,66 12

Table 4.1.1.3 The Table of Distribution of post test for EC

Score

Fi

Xi

Xi2

fixi

Fi Xi2

30-41

35,5

1260,25

71

2520,5

42-53

47,5

2256,25

95

4512,5

54-65

59,5

3540,25

119

7080,5

66-77

13

71,5

5112,25

929,5

66459,25

78-89

83,5

6972,25

83,5

6972,25

90-101

95,5

9120,25

477,5

45601,25

Total

25

1775,5

133146,3

X =

f i xi

xi

1775,5
=71,02
25

n f i x 2i ( f i x i)
sb =
n ( n1 )

25 ( 133146,3 ) (1775,5 )2

25 ( 251 )

38

s b 2=

33286563152400
600

sb =

176256
600

s b =293,76

s b= 293,76

17,14

Based on the calculation above, the mean of post test for EC is ( x ) =

71,02

( sb2 )=293,76

and (

sb

) = 17,14

The calculation above showed that the mean score of pre test for EC is 45, 74
and the mean score of post test in EC is 71, 02. It means that there is a significant
difference between pre-test and post-test in EC about 25, 28.

4.1. 2 The Result of Students Pre-Test and Post Test Scores of CC

Table 4.1.2.1 Students Pre-Test and Post Test Scores of CC

No

Students initial

Pre-Test

Post-Test

AM

40

25

AN

25

55

CL

25

55

39

CI

45

25

DF

45

25

DM

35

25

ER

35

30

FI

35

30

FF

35

30

10

FDI

45

50

11

FR

45

50

12

FH

45

50

13

FY

40

40

14

KK

45

35

15

MS

50

40

16

MA

50

40

17

MS

45

25

18

NH

30

6O

19

40

45

20

RS

40

25

21

RM

55

50

22

RA

25

25

23

SA

50

45

24

ZA

60

45

40

25

50

40

From the table above, the highest score of pre test for CC is 60, while the
lowest score of pre test is 25. For the post test, the highest score for CC is 60 and the
lowest score is 25.
Frequency distribution for the pre-test score of control class obtained as
follows:
Range (R)

= 60- 25
= 35

The Amount of Class Interval (K)

= 1 + 3,3 log 25
= 1 + 3,3 (1,39)
= 1 + 4,587
= 5,587

Length of Interval Class (P) =

35
6

= 5,83 6
Table 4.1.2.2 The Table of Distribution of pre test for CC
x i2

f i xi

f i x i2

Score

fi

xi

25-30

27,5

756,25

110

3025

31-36

33,5

1122,25

134

4489

41

37-42

39,5

1560,25

158

6241

43-48

45,5

2070,25

318,5

14491,75

49-54

51,5

2652,25

206

10609

55-60

57,5

3306,25

115

6612,5

Total

25

1041,5

45468,25

X =

f i xi

fi

1041,5
=41,66
25

n f i x 2i ( f i x i )
s1 =
n ( n1 )
2

25 ( 45468,25 )( 1041,5 )

25 ( 251 )

s1 =

11367061084722
600

s 12=

51984
600

s 12=86,64

s 1= 86,64

9,31

Based on the calculation above, the mean of pre test result for CC ( x ) =

41,66

( s12 )=86,64

and (

s1

) = 9,31

42

Frequency distribution for the post-test score of CC obtained as follows:

Range (R)

= 60-25
= 35

The Amount of Class Interval (K)

= 1 + 3,3 log 25
= 1 + 3,3 (1,39)
= 1 + 4,587
= 5,587

Length of interval (P) =

35
6

P = 5,83 = 6

Table 4.1.2.3 The Table of Distribution of post test for CC

x i2

f i xi

f i x i2

Score

fi

xi

25-30

10

27,5

756,25

275

7562,5

31-36

33,5

1122,25

33,5

1122,25

37-42

39,5

1560,25

158

6241

43-48

45,5

2070,25

136,5

6210,75

49-54

51,5

2652,25

206

10609

55-60

57,5

3306,25

172,5

9918,75

Total

25

981,5

41664,25

43


X =

f i xi

fi

981,5
=39,26
25

n f i x 2i ( f i x i )
s2 =
n ( n1 )
2

25 ( 41664,25 )( 981,5 )2
25 ( 251 )

s 2 2=

1041606963342,3
600

s2 =

78264
600

s 2 =130,44

s 2= 130,44

11,42

Based on the calculation above, the mean of post test for CC is ( x ) =

39,26

( s22 )=130,44

and (

s2

) = 11,42

44

The calculation above showed that the mean score of pre test for CC is 41, 66
and the mean score of post test is 39,26. It means that there is no significant
difference between pre-test and post-test in CC because only 2, 4 point difference.
Hypotesis Testing
In this research, the researcher used t-score formula. The criteria testing reject

Ho if t >

t 1

. degrees of freedom (n1 + n2 -2) for one tail test = (1- ) and

= 0,05 (Sudjana, 2005:242).

Based on the result of post test from both classess (experimental and control),

the mean score of EC is (x) = 71,02 variance, (S b)= 17,14 while the mean score of
CC is (x) = 39,26 variance (S 2)= 11,42. So, the standar deviation combination can be
concluded as follows:

S2 =

S2 =

( n11 ) s 2b +( n 21 ) s 22
n1 +n 22

24 ( 293,76 ) +24 ( 130,44 )

25+252

S combination 14,56
To prove the hypothesis, the researcher used the following formula:
x1 x2
t=

S gab

1 1
+
n1 n2

45

t=

71,0239,26
1 1
14,56
+
25 25

t=

31,76
14,56 0,08

t=

31,76
14,56 (0,28)

t=

31,76
4,07 = 7,8

with the significant standard

n1 +n22

=0,05

and the degree of freedom df=(

) = 25+25-2 = 48, from the table distribution was obtained t (0,95)(48 )=1,67.

If t-score equal or higher than critical t-score or t, in this case it is obtained 7, 8>
1,67, so the null hypothesis is rejected and the alternative hypothesis is accepted. It
can be concluded that the implementation of role play technique improved students
speaking ability.

4.2

Discussion
After analyzing all the data collected from the experimental by using

statistical formula, the researcher found that both experimental and control classes
had the same attainment in terms of speaking ability prior to the implementation of
role play. Nevertheless, after being taught by using role play, the experimenal group
got better achievement than the control group except one student who got the lowest

46

score in experimental group. Her lower score was caused by her inadequate
knowledge even after he was involved in the treatmeant.
The result of data analysis revealed that the students scores of speaking
taught by implementing role play was better. The highest score of pre test for
experimental class was 60 and the lowest one was 25. The highest score of post test
for experimental class was 100 and the lowest one 30. On the contrary, in the conrol
class, the highest score of pre test was 60 and the lowest one was 25 and the highest
score in the post test for the control class was 60 and the lowest one was 25.
The mean score of experimental class after the implementation of role play
technique was 74,84, whereas the mean score in control class that was not taught by
using role play technique in teaching speaking is 42,34.
According to the statement of hypothesis by using t-test on the level of
significant a= 0.05 and degree of freedom = 48, tscore > ttable which is 7,8 > 1,67. It can
be concluded that there was a significant difference between students who were
taught by using role play technique with students who were not taught by using role
play technique.

47

CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

This chapter presents conclusions and suggestions of the study. Some

suggestions are also given at the end of this chapter.
5.1

Conclusions
After completing this study, the researcher draws some conclusions and

suggestions in terms of the implementation of role play technique to improve

students speaking ability. As presented in the first chapter, the purpose of this study
was to examine the use of role play that can or can not technique improve students
performance in English speaking ability.
Based on the research results and discussions, the researcher concludes that
the implementation of role play technique could improve students performance in
English speaking ability. This was proven by the improvement of students learning
outcomes. The mean score of post-test for experimental class was higher than of that

48

the pre-test (71.2 > 45,74). This indicated that there was a significant difference in
scores between the two means. It can be concluded that the improvement of the
learning outcomes was due to the implementation of role play technique.
Meanwhile, the mean score of the post test for control class was lower than
the pre test (39, 26 < 41, 66). It means that there was no significant difference
between the two means of pre-test and post. The results showed that there was no
improvement in speaking for control group.
Finally, based on the t-test analysis, the obtained t-test score (7, 8) was higher
than the critical score at the level of significance 0,05 that is 1,67, which proved that
the alternative hypothesis of this study was accepted and the null hypothesis was
rejected. It indicated that the implementation of role play technique had given
positive impact to improve students performance in speaking ability.
5.2

Suggestions
In oder to improve students speaking ability, thera are some suggestions to

be considered as follows.
For the teacher:
1. The teacher should choose the appropiate and present the lesson with
varoius techniques in order to make students enjoyable in learning.
2. Before assigning the role play to the students, the teacher should make sure
that the students have fully understood and have the information they need.
3. It needs a strategy and good preparation to make a teaching learning
process successful, effective and meaningful. Students must be involved as
subjects of learning and participate actively.

49

For the students:

1. The students are hoped to be active in learning and teaching process
2. The students are expected to use English when they practice role play
activity although it is a bit difficult for them for the first time.
3. The students do not feel shy if they make mistakes in pronounciation and
grammatical errors but try to keep speaking well.

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