ISSN |2355-3669| E-ISSN |2503-2518| Volume 7| Number 2|Dec 2020| 84 Available online at http://jurnal.radenfatah.ac.id/index.php/edukasi Field Trip as a Challenging Method in Developing Students’ Mastery of Descriptive Texts Indrawati State Islamic Institute of Syaikh Abdurrahman Siddik Bangka Belitung indrawati.fr@gmail.com Abstract Field trip method is believed to have power in increasing students‟ drive in writing, especially when they are asked to describe things or people. The purpose of this quasi-experimental research was to gain as much as information about the use of Field Trip Method in developing learners‟ ability in writing descriptive texts for tenth graders of SMA Negeri I Mendo Barat, Bangka. A writing test was conducted to collect the data. Based on the findings, the mean score of post-test in the class which was given treatment was higher (70.27) compared to the mean score in the class with no treatment (60.22). In addition, comparing the post-test between the two groups using Independent Sample T- test, it was found that T-table was lower than T-obtained, and the Paired Sample T-test also revealed a significant difference between the pre-test and the post-test in the experimental group. It is obviously seen that there was an absolute distinction between those two classes, and it can be concluded that Field Trip Method can improve the students‟ skill in producing descriptive text at SMA Negeri 1 Mendo Barat. Keywords: Descriptive Text, Field Trip Method, Writing Skill Manuscript submitted: October 3, 2020 Manuscript revised: November 16, 2020 Accepted for publication: December 1, 2020 Introduction English has become the first foreign language which has to be learnt as a compulsory subject in any level of school in Indonesia, from Elementary to High School students (Mukminin, Masbirorotni, Noprival, Sutarno, Arif, & Maimunah 2015, ). It is widely known that English is an international language since it has been largely spoken among foreign language speakers (Marzulina, Mukminin, Habibi, Asyrafi, Makmur, & Marzulina, 2018). In Senior High School, English is taught to the students from the first to the third year. The government arranges the national examination to every third year of any level and one of its purposes is to improve the students‟ competence in listening, speaking, reading and writing in English. That is the reason why English subject in Indonesia is very important (Marzulina, Mukminin, Erlina, Astrid, Ajriyah, Holandiyah, & Habibi, 2019). English as one of international languages which has four skills that must be mastered by the students inseparably (Maimunah, Marzulina, Herizal, Holandyah, Mukminin, Pratama, & Habibi, 2018; Mukminin, Ali, & Ashari, 2015; Mukminin et al., 2019). These four skills are related to each mailto:indrawati.fr@gmail.com ISSN |2355-3669| E-ISSN |2503-2518| Volume 7| Number 2|Dec 2020| 85 Available online at http://jurnal.radenfatah.ac.id/index.php/edukasi other and they are divided into two. The first is receptive skills including listening and reading and the second is productive skills which consist of speaking and writing. Especially for writing skill, it is a competence that must be learnt by the students, because after the students have studied about listening, speaking and reading, a final product is writing (Marzulina, 2019; Mukminin et al., 2018). Furthermore, Richard (2011) claimed that writing is the hardest skill to be learnt and found more difficult than the others because it is hard to be achieved by the students (Richards, 2011). Wolfersberger stated that the writing skills are complicated and uneasy to be learnt by students ( Wolfersberger, 2003). The skill involved in writing is highly complex and it is totally not easy for students even to write a single paragraph (Astrid, Marzulina, Erlina, Harto, Habibi, & Mukminin 2019). Writing involves many aspects of language, including grammar and vocabulary. In addition, discovering ideas, drafting, revising, and proof reading take considerable time and energy (Ruiz- Funes, 2015). Harmer (2007) defines that writing is occasionally functional as a kind of readiness for many tasks that follow, specifically when students produce paragraph as an introduction to speaking projects (Harmer, 2007). Although, it needs special methods or strategies to teach writing skill, it becomes one of challenging skills which students should master. Based on the preliminary study that has been done by the researcher in class X MIPA SMA Negeri 1 Mendo Barat, Bangka, many students had some problems and difficulties in writing skill. It can be seen from the result of their writing test. The students were unable to write in a good grammatical sentence. The students did mistakes in using of pronoun and verb. Moreover, the students were confused when they have to choose the words to make a sentence (word choice). Also, when the researcher interviewed the teacher, she said that the students‟ problem was lack of vocabularies and they were not too creative in making and developing an idea, because when the students were in Junior High School, the teacher only asked them to translate rather than to write. Next, based on the observation, the students have difficulties in some descriptive text features, such as 1) Content, which discovered their limited details of topic, limited development of ideas and the inconsistence of focus, 2) Organization, which revealed their disconnecting ideas and lacks of developing sequence, 3) Structure, with frequent errors of using tense, pronoun, verbs, and preposition and mislay the sentence, 4) Mechanics, which elaborated their frequent errors of spelling, capitalization, punctuation, sentence structure, usage and formatting consideration and the last one is 5) Word Choice, where the students‟ error of word/idiom form, choice and usage and obscured/inconsistent meaning of word were disclosed. Afterward, based on the statements above, I limited the study on writing skill. Actually, there are so many strategies, techniques, and methods that can increase and encourage the students‟ interest in writing descriptive text. In this case, a good method and visual media are needed. These will make the students get more interested in writing, especially a descriptive text. In analyzing the students‟ difficulties in writing a descriptive text, I had to find the effective method to improve the students‟ writing skill, and one of them is Field Trip Method. Rugaiyah (2017) conducted a research to increase her students‟ mastery in producing descriptive text using field trip method. She used an experimental research, giving treatments, a pre-test and post-test to her students. And the from the findings, the students who were given and experienced field trip method could have a higher scores, or it can be inferred that their ability in writing descriptive texts could increase significantly (Rugaiyah, 2017). Rugaiyah (2019) also did a survey to see how effective field trip was in developing student‟s skills in writing descriptive texts (Rugaiyah, 2019). The population and sample of her research was junior and senior high school students and the pre-service teachers of English selected ISSN |2355-3669| E-ISSN |2503-2518| Volume 7| Number 2|Dec 2020| 86 Available online at http://jurnal.radenfatah.ac.id/index.php/edukasi from private and public schools. The result showed that most of the participants agreed field trip method was beneficial for them in improving ability in writing as it could trigger their creative thinking and motivation in learning this kind of skill. Field trip method is one of learning strategies used by the teachers especially in teaching English. According to Behrendt and Franklin (2014), field trip is a school outing that is managed by the educational institution for the purpose of supporting the educational material. For this outing, the learners will visit and explore some places and the teachers will give some language instruction related to the objectives of the subject given where the of instruction can be in form of observation and examining things directly in their functional setting (Behrendt & Franklin, 2014) for example, an expedition food or drink factories, a libraries, plantations, and so on. Field Trip is also known as the field geography method which provides more extensive experience to the students rather than study in the classroom (Widiyanto, 2017). Field study is learners‟ experiences outside the school and classroom at some specific spots or places especially designed for learning purposes or objectives (Procter, 2012). In addition, field trip may be done in some hours only (half day), full day , or even the whole weekend; the formats of the pleasure trip can be for educational trip (students‟ projects), or it can be in a form of research completion, academic orientation (Glory, Rajeswari, & Vasanthi, 2017; Mosothwane, 2002). Similarly, Amosa, Ogunlade, & Atobatele, (2015) in their research argued that field trips fill the gaps between the learning theories that the students get in school and the real experiences which are so natural and real in the environment, in different aspects of life (industry, health, wildlife conservation, and so on) (Amosa, Ogunlade, & Atobatele, 2015). According to Meiranti (2012), Field Trip can be defined as studying outside classroom and school environment. Field Trip does not always mean going far away for a long time from classroom or school. However if it takes a long time to travel and for some time, it can be categorized as study tour, not a field trip anymore (Meiranti, 2012). In addition, Kandamby (2018) added that the field trip gives some chances for students to implement what they have learnt at school, encounter actual, genuine resources, a chance to physically touch authentic condition, (Kandamby, 2018). Field trip also provides the real experiences for the students and the teacher. There are many learning objectives in conducting field; according to Adam, the objectives are to build camaraderie and team work, develop/gain self- confidence and trust, and so on (Adam, 2016). It also gives a good impact on students‟ attitudes, behavior, and learning process. He claimed that the purpose of conducting field trip is to acknowledge more about the community, real life, and things outside the classroom or house (Meiranti, 2012). In the steps of applying a field trip, especially in teaching writing, it can be done by getting students to learn outside the classroom and with guide from teachers through the instructions and implementation of a written assignment also the teacher should provide an accurate and well preparation to avoid any unexpected incident while having a trip. Moreover, Field Trip method has simple procedures which consist of three steps, such as planning the trip, the trip, and follow up (Glory, Rajeswari, & Vasanthi, 2017). There were some previous related studies, and three of them were the research presented by (Rugaiyah, 2017; Adam, 2016; Meiranti, 2012). Based on the result of those studies, Field Trip was effective in improving students‟ mastery of producing writing texts. Based on the preliminary study, the researcher drew up the problems of study: „Is there a significant difference in writing skill between the students who are given Field Trip Method treatment and the ones who are taught without Field Trip Method?‟ ISSN |2355-3669| E-ISSN |2503-2518| Volume 7| Number 2|Dec 2020| 87 Available online at http://jurnal.radenfatah.ac.id/index.php/edukasi Literature Review Descriptive text 1. What is Descriptive Text? Descriptive text is one genre of texts which through learning this kind of text, the students could observe, explores, associate, and communicate through around them and show the result in the written form. It proves that there are several opinions from some experts about descriptive text. When you describe things meaning you have to use your feeling and five senses; describing things based on their appearances, scents, flavors and the sound they produce (Oshima, Ann Hogue, Carlson, DiLillo, Edmonds, Le Drean Linda Moser, & Pullman,2007). Tompkins (2002) argued that when the students produce descriptive writing just like drawing an image though words, sentences, and paragraph in correct order into a good and complete essay. And while writing they have to actively uses their senses and feelings. (Tompkins, 2002). In addition, a descriptive text usually draw a picture of a thing or object, so that the reader can imagine the object in his/her mind (Katherine, 2015) . To sum up, descriptive text describes any elements of environment including person, view, animals, and so on in order to help the readers to able to get the same sense as what the writer have felt. 2. The Generic Structure of Descriptive Text The basic structure of descriptive text consists of identification and description. The first part is the part where the writer has to identify the phenomenon, person, place or thing. The second part is the part which describes the parts, qualities, and the characteristics of the phenomenon, person, place or thing which introduced in the first part (Meniado, 2016). 3. Language Features in Descriptive Text. Descriptive text has some language features (Katherine, 2015), which are: a) Describe specific noun; persons, animals, concrete things b) Use adjectives in describing those specific nouns c) Use Simple Present Tense in expressing the description in sentences The concept of field trip method 1. Field Trip Method Field trip method is one of teaching strategies used by the teacher especially in teaching English. Field trip also provides the real experiences for the students and the teacher. There are some objectives of field trip in teaching and learning outside the classroom; to build camaraderie and team work, develop/gain self-confidence and trust, and so on (Mosothwane, 2002). It also gives a good impact on students‟ attitudes, behavior, and learning process (Enung & Usman, 2019). In the steps of applying a field trip, especially in teaching writing, it can be done by getting students to learn outside the classroom and with guide from teachers through the instructions and implementation of a written assignment (Meiranti, 2012), also the teacher should provide an accurate and well preparation to avoid any unexpected incident while having a trip. ISSN |2355-3669| E-ISSN |2503-2518| Volume 7| Number 2|Dec 2020| 88 Available online at http://jurnal.radenfatah.ac.id/index.php/edukasi In other words, the purpose of using Field Trip method is to observe and concept anything that they feel through the trip which is related to their experience. In conclusion, field trip method is a method which allows the students to see, to hear, and to explore anything that they got in the trip, and then the students try to express anything they feel along the trip in the written form. 2. Procedure of Field Trip Method In conducting a field trip, there are three stages that should be held. They are as follows. a) Planning the Trip Three essential elements should be required to plan any field trip are the host, the teacher, and the students. The host is someone who must be involved firstly in the process of field trip or someone who has to explain about the object at the site. It is suggested that the teacher should contact or meet the host in order to have a small talk about the trip. In addition, the teacher may also invite the host to come to the classroom for planning the trip including the day, date, and time of the trip for the students. Afterwards, the students who must be involved during the trip should follow the instruction or directions and record the data as suggested by the teacher during the trip and then analyze it to make a conclusion. Furthermore, the teacher is someone who must act as an assistant of tour guide throughout the process of teaching and learning during the trip. The roles of the teacher during the trip are; (a) selecting the problems, objectives, and the concepts of the trip second, (b) guiding the students‟ observation, (c) assigning responsibilities for completion of students‟ task after the trip, (d) constructing the data sheet of observation and dividing the students into small group, and (e) anticipating unconditional learning process to prepare the students in the classroom for solving problem. b) The Trip The planning of the trip that involved the three elements including the host, the students and the teacher should have a meaningful experience along the trip. The trip should be useful to all participants including the teacher and the students. On the trip day, the final details include checking the students‟ attendance list, reminding the rules of the trip, and conducting some food and equipment should be prepared before going to the place of the trip. After arriving at the site, the host and the teacher become responsible for the tour or the trip itself. During the trip, the students are allowed to ask some question and make notes about the object at the field. At the end of visit, the teacher gives a session for questions, answers, and discussions. At this time, the host may explain the last explanation and clarification. Also, the teacher may allow the students to reveal some appreciation and thank the host for his/her benefaction. c) Follow up At the end of visit, the students have to return to the school for discussing their experience along the trip. At this time, the teacher has an opportunity to reinforce the learning outcomes of the students through some means or equipment of follow up activities. Here are some activities and equipment for follow up activities such as discussions, cameras and video tape recorder (VTR), Formal writing assignment, bulletin and thank you letter. Bahrendt and Franklin (2014) argued that the teacher must identify the reflection and briefing to maximize student interest and learning ISSN |2355-3669| E-ISSN |2503-2518| Volume 7| Number 2|Dec 2020| 89 Available online at http://jurnal.radenfatah.ac.id/index.php/edukasi process. Afterwards, the evaluation should be based on the objective which is to measure the students understanding toward the object that has been observed. 3. The Advantages of Field Trip Method The use of field trip has some advantages, especially for the students. According to Rugaiyah (2017), Field Trip has positive effect on learner‟s motivation (Rugaiyah, 2017), retention and performance. In line with this, it is said that Field Trip Strategy seems to create a good track of accomplishment in developing learners‟ drive to study and improving students‟ competencies (Behrendt & Franklin, 2014). The advantages are stated below. Firstly, field trips are believed to lead learners get closer to the real things and specific environment and updated knowledge. This method encounters the students to live experience that might also be the base basic of other learning activities. It may energize the learners to obtain current knowledge based on the object which they examine in the field, and it can make the students are eager to learn better. Secondly, field trips are claimed to make the learners to respect nature and their environment. Field trip can be considered as an activity that can develop student‟s creative and critical thinking related to the real situation they encounter during the trip. So, it became retention in their daily life. In addition, retention is usually defined as the power to recall and remember memories accordingly, and he or she will have a scheme on what is seen or listened in a period of time. Thirdly, according to Behrendt and Franklin (2014), Field Trip gives the students experiences to gear and link them to comprehend and value the classroom concepts (Behrendt & Franklin, 2014). Parents may want to expose their children to many places and event that are of educational value, but their parents have some reasons to do not do that, for example busy at their work, lack of money, and so on. In conclusion, field trip gives positive effects to the learners and educators in all classroom activities. It allowed the students to explore anything around them and learn through the real situation. In addition, the students will not be bored in learning through this method rather than learning in the classroom that can cause the students become bored. 4. The Disadvantages of Field Trip Method a. Taking a lot of time to make a preparation b. Involving many people to manage the trip c. Interrupting the ongoing lesson especially if the place visited is not close to school d. Demanding high cost, therefore not every student can join the field trip e. Requiring a superintendence, guidance from the teachers moreover if the students are young learners The steps of implementing the field trip method Here are some stages to implement the field trip method in teaching descriptive essays: a. Before the Field Trip Before going to learn, the teacher should decide the place in order to observe the layout of the place and determine the compatibility of the place for all students. The teacher also may ask the host to help her in controlling the atmosphere. After that, the teacher needs to give some prior orientation which includes describing the place and its layout. Through this orientation, the students should comprehend the purpose of the learning and its result becomes the new experience for them. ISSN |2355-3669| E-ISSN |2503-2518| Volume 7| Number 2|Dec 2020| 90 Available online at http://jurnal.radenfatah.ac.id/index.php/edukasi Afterwards, the teacher should prepare some means for teaching and learning process at the field trip. This means includes camera, Video tape recorder (VTR), note book and attendance list. b. During the Field Trip During the field trip, the teacher may need to help the students enjoy, relax and comfortable with the new surroundings. When the activities begin, the teacher explains the rules that the students need to follow the direction and the instruction by the teacher. Then, the teacher gives a worksheet which consists of some questions or outlines relates to the object that the students going to observe. During the activity, the teacher may also explain the layout of the field trip. Afterwards, the teacher also allows the students to take notes and ask some questions to the host after explanation of the materials. c. After the Field Trip After observing the object of the materials, the teacher asked the students to thank and appreciate the host for his/her benefaction and then the teacher asks the students to collect the worksheet. Rugaiyah (2017) added that after making field trip, the next activity was Follow up. The teacher needs to reinforce the learning outcomes through this activity which includes discussions the result of Field Trip, guiding the students to make a description and evaluation (Rugaiyah, 2017). The procedures in teaching writing using the field trip method There are three procedures in teaching writing using the Field Trip Method: a. Pre-writing 1. Before the Field Trip In this stage, three elements should be needed. They are the teacher, the host, and the students. Before having the trip, the teacher should arrange a plan. This plan should be done before having the trip. These plans are the date, day, time, and the place of the trip. An opportunity should exist for host and teacher to meet before the visit to share ideas and discussing such matters. Then, the researcher invited the host to the classroom in order to discuss the plan of field trip together with the students. In this research, the researcher arranged the first trip (a trip to a library) on Monday, 14 October 2019. The second trip (a trip to a florist shop) was on Tuesday, 22 October 2019, and the last trip (a trip to cattle farm) was on Monday, 4 November 2019. 2. During the Field Trip During the school outing was the next procedure of conducting field trip. It was the Trip. In this step, the students were visited the places of the trip. They were a library, a florist shop, and a cattle farm. In the trip, the students observed the place/object (the location, part of the place, the colors, the shape, and etc.). Before observing, the researcher read the rule of the trip and told the students about the equipment for the trip and gave them the worksheet which consists of some questions or outlines related to the object. Then, while the students observe the place, the researcher and the host explained the material to the students. The students were allowed to take notes and asking some question to the host. At the end of the trip, the students appreciated the host for his/her benefaction during the trip. 3. After the Field Trip ISSN |2355-3669| E-ISSN |2503-2518| Volume 7| Number 2|Dec 2020| 91 Available online at http://jurnal.radenfatah.ac.id/index.php/edukasi After the trip, the last activity was follow up. After observing the place, the students returned to the classroom. In this activity, the teacher needed to reinforce and evaluate the result of the trip through discussing, and the teacher also guided the students to make description. As the last step, the students collected the result to the teacher. b. Drafting (in the classroom) Drafting is an activity that is done by a writer in which he writes all ideas which is not paying attention on mechanical aspects of writing. In other words, in this stage a writer produced a rough draft. Tompkins (2002) defined that drafting is one important step of the writing process where the learners do mind mapping and express those ideas into sentences with errors on mechanics, spelling, and punctuation. The Researcher asked the students to write a paragraph of descriptive text related to the topic or the place that they have just observed before and it was based on the notes or the outlines they have written on their notebooks or worksheet. c. Revising and Editing (in the classroom) Oshima et al (2007) stated that during this step, revising is time to check the essay focused on content, coherence, cohesion and organization (Oshima et al., 2007). After revising a rough draft, editing is the stage of writing process. Editing is arranging all the sentences, paragraphs into an accurate structure (Tompkins, 2002). Similarly, editing is the process of correcting grammatical error, lexical, and mechanical errors. In this activity, the students were asked to rearrange, edit, and rewrite their writing task and then the teacher ordered the students to end the paragraph and asked them to examine their writing including the punctuation, spelling errors, capitalization, and so on. Method This quantitative research used quasi-experimental design. It was a type of experiment that the researcher limited the control in selecting the participants. In this research, the population was the entire of tenth grade students in SMA Negeri 1 Mendo Barat with the total number of students 182. Purposive sampling was used as the sampling technique. I took two classes out of the population as the sample of this research. X MIPA 1 class was the experimental group which would be given the treatment and X MIPA 2 class became the control group. Test was the instrument used by the researcher in collecting the data of research, and writing test was given to students. They were asked to write descriptive texts. The result of this writing test was computed by using statistical analysis. Then, the statistical data was measured by using SPSS. Moreover, the statistical strategy was used to compare the result of pre-test and post-test between the two sample of group. Findings Table 1. Paired samples statistics Mean N Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean Pair 1 Pre-test (Exp) 51.71 32 7.323 1.294 Post-test (Exp) 70.27 32 6.496 1.148 ISSN |2355-3669| E-ISSN |2503-2518| Volume 7| Number 2|Dec 2020| 92 Available online at http://jurnal.radenfatah.ac.id/index.php/edukasi Paired samples T-Test on the table above showed the mean score of pre-test in treatment group was 51.71 and the post-test was 70.27, the standard deviation of pre-test in treatment group was 7.323 and the post-test was 6.496, and the standard error mean of pre-test was 1.294 and post-test was 1.148. Table 2. Paired Samples Test Paired Differences T Df Sig. (2- tailed) Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Lower Upper Pair 1 Pre-test (exp) Post- test (exp) -18.56125- 9.69318 1.71353 -22.05601- -15.06649- -10.832- 31 .000 The result of paired sample t-test showed the mean of test score between before and after treatment in experimental group was 18.56, standard deviation was 9.69, the standard error mean was 1.71, and t-obtained was 10.83. At the significant level of p<0.05 for two tailed test and degree of freedom was 31. We noticed that the value t-table was lower that t-obtained, it was obviously seen be that there was a significant difference in students‟ mastery of writing before and after given field trip method as the treatment in the experimental group. The result of pre-test and post-test score in the control group Table 3. Paired samples statistics Mean N Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean Pair 1 Pre-test (Con) 46.1474 31 6.00107 1.07782 Post-test (Con) 60.2226 31 5.54423 .99577 From the table above, we can see that the mean score of pre-test in non-treatment class was 46.14 and the post-test was 60.22, the standard deviation of pre-test in non-treatment class was 6.00 and the post-test was 5.54, and the standard error mean of pre-test was 1.077 and post-test was .995. ISSN |2355-3669| E-ISSN |2503-2518| Volume 7| Number 2|Dec 2020| 93 Available online at http://jurnal.radenfatah.ac.id/index.php/edukasi From Table 4, It could be analyzed that the mean score between before and after the researcher gave material related to writing descriptive text in control group was 14.07, standard deviation was 7.39, the standard error mean was 1.32 and t-obtained was 10.59. At the significant level of p<0.05 for two tailed test and degree of freedom was 30. Since the value of t-obtained was higher than t- table, it could be concluded that there was a little improvement in students‟ writing skill in control group. The statistical analysis of students’ post-test between the experimental group and control group Table 5. Group statistics Group N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean Scores of Writing Posttest experimental group 32 70.2775 6.49677 1.14848 control group 31 60.2226 5.54423 .99577 Table 5 showed the students‟ score of writing during post-test. The experimental group which consisted of 32 students, the mean score was 70. 2775 while on the other hand the mean score of the control group was 60.2226. The average score of students‟ test in the treatment class was higher than the average score of the other one which did not receive field trip method implementation. Table 4. Paired samples test Paired Differences T df Sig. (2- tailed) Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Lower Upper Pair 1 Pre-test (Con) - Post-test (Con) -14.07516- 7.39583 1.32833 -16.78797- -11.36235- -10.596- 30 .000 ISSN |2355-3669| E-ISSN |2503-2518| Volume 7| Number 2|Dec 2020| 94 Available online at http://jurnal.radenfatah.ac.id/index.php/edukasi Table 6 revealed the statistical analysis comparing students‟ final scores of writing. The Independent sample t-test differentiated two groups of scores in writing descriptive texts; post test result of control group and experimental group. From the table above, t-obtained was 6.598. It was also found that t-table was 1.999, lower than t-obtained (6.598). It can be inferred that the there was much progress in the students‟ ability in producing the descriptive text for the experimental group which the field trip method implemented. Discussions After accomplishing the implementation and the observation of Field Trip Method in the process of teaching learning writing skill of descriptive text, I interpreted that the process was effective and running well. It could be seen by the result of observation which was done during the treatment of Field Trip Method. The observation sheet showed the students‟ level of participation or activeness, cooperation and comprehension during learning process the researcher found. Examining the students‟ participation, I could draw conclusion that there was a remarkable improvement and progress from the very first to the twelfth meeting. It was because the students‟ participation in their attendance from the second meeting to the last meeting was increased. It showed that the result of this aspect was in fair category in participating the class regularly during the treatments. In the students‟ cooperation aspect, the most of students were able to cooperate with his/her friends during and after field trip. For this aspect, there were six meetings categorized poor category, but in the eighth to the eleventh meeting were in fair category. When I taught the students by using Field Trip method, the students were able to discuss in their groups and share any information about the place that they observed during and after field trip. Afterwards, I concluded that there was a good significant difference in this aspect of observation. Finally, the last aspect was students‟ comprehension. During the treatment, there were eight meetings in poor category, but the fifth and eleventh meetings were in fair category. It proved that by using this method, the students who were not able to organize and create their idea in written form, It became easier for them to do it when they learned writing through this method. The most of students also were able to be a good critical learner when they were asked to observe and discuss the result together with their friends and applied it in the written form. In conclusion, it could be Table 6. Independent samples test Levene's Test for Equality of Variances t-test for Equality of Means 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference F Sig. T Df Sig. (2- tailed) Mean Difference Std. Error Difference Lower Upper Scores of Writing Posttest Equal variances assumed .991 .323 6.598 61 .000 10.05492 1.52392 7.00766 13.10218 Equal variances not assumed 6.615 60.057 .000 10.05492 1.52005 7.01442 13.09542 ISSN |2355-3669| E-ISSN |2503-2518| Volume 7| Number 2|Dec 2020| 95 Available online at http://jurnal.radenfatah.ac.id/index.php/edukasi concluded that Field Trip Method was effective to apply in improving students‟ writing of descriptive text. There were some studies which conveying that Field Trip could develop the students‟ writing skill in producing descriptive texts. The first was a study conducted by Saifudin Adam in SMA Negeri 3 Ternate. He did an experimental research and the finding showed that the students who were taught by using Field Trip technique experienced a more joyful and convenient learning atmosphere, and as a result, their post-test mean became much higher than their pre-test, as well as the comparison between post test means of the two classes, experimental group and control group (Adam, 2016). The other study about this Field Trip method was also implemented by Risa Meiranti. She conducted a classroom action research in order to improve writing ability of second grader of Junior High School Students in Luragung. In the second cycle, she found out that the students were more enthusiastic and confident in doing the tasks related to writing descriptive text (Meiranti, 2012). The third study about Filed Trip method was managed by Rugaiyah. She did an experimental research on the second semester students of FKIP UIR Pekanbaru. She taught Filed Trip method to develop the students‟ mastery in writing descriptive texts in the experimental class.. And the findings showed that the Field Trip method can enhance the students‟ performance in writing descriptive text (Rugaiyah, 2017). The test result showed that the students in the experimental group who were given treatment of field trip reached a better score than the students who were given no treatment, using conventional method in learning to write descriptive texts. The result of the statistical analysis suggested that there was a quite major distinction between the group experiencing the learning process by using Field Trip Method (experimental group) and the one without the treatment, which is the control group. Furthermore, the difference was also significant when compared between before and after the implementation of the method. The experimental group had higher mean scores than the control group, both in the pre-test and the post-test. The mean of the pre-test of the experimental group was 51.71 while the control group‟s was 46.14. While the score of the post-test of the former was 70.27 in average, the later one had 60.22 points. Afterwards, I concluded that there was a significant difference between the experimental group and the control group in teaching and learning through Field Trip Method. It means that the students „mastery of writing descriptive texts increased remarkably after using this method. In other words, the students‟ writing skill has been improved by learning using the method, especially in descriptive text. Conclusions I had conducted the research and obtained two conclusions. First, after the implementation of Field Trip Method, it could be claimed that the students who were in the experimental group experienced a more fun and enjoyable learning atmosphere compared to the ones in the control class. During the meeting, students showed positive response during teaching and learning writing. It was because Field Trip Method gave them to get real experiences towards real object. Then, Field trip also could build camaraderie or friendship of students become more tightly and it gave them a nice motivation in learning writing. In addition, most of students also were able to be a good critical learner when they were asked to observe and discuss the result together with their friends and applied it in the written form. Furthermore, the students also were able to organize and create their idea in written form and they became easier to do it when they learn writing through this method. ISSN |2355-3669| E-ISSN |2503-2518| Volume 7| Number 2|Dec 2020| 96 Available online at http://jurnal.radenfatah.ac.id/index.php/edukasi In answering research problem number 2, I conducted a statistical analysis using independent sample t-test where the result of students‟ final work of descriptive text in the experimental group was compared to students‟ writing in the non-field trip method group. The result showed that t- obtained was 6.598 and t-table was 1.999; t-table was lower than t-obtained. This statistical analysis gave a clear finding to be interpreted that the alternative hypothesis was accepted and the null one was rejected. Furthermore, it could be inferred that Field Trip Method treatment was effective to develop students‟ skill in writing descriptive text at the tenth grade students of SMA Negeri 1 Mendo Barat, Bangka. Based on the conclusions above, I would like to offer some suggestions for the teacher of English, for the students, and for further researcher to improve the quality of teaching writing by using Field Trip Method. Those suggestions are as follows: a. For the teacher of English In teaching writing, I recommend teachers of English to apply Field Trip Method in teaching writing, especially descriptive text. By implementing this learning strategy, the students can observe the object that will be written directly and it gives students the real experience in learning. This method also will build the friendship among the students and it increases their motivation in learning writing. Afterwards, in this study, this method also improves learner‟ skill in writing descriptive text. b. For the students Through implementing Field Trip Method in teaching writing, the students are expected to enjoy learning process of writing descriptive text. I propose the students that during the trip, they can ask and share any experience to their friends in the form of writing. c. For further researchers It is hoped that the findings of this research can give an explorative and meaningful resources to the further researchers who want to investigate the similar research. References Adam, S. S. (2016). The effectiveness of using field trip technique to the writing skill for the senior high students. 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