ENGLISH REVIEW: Journal of English Education Volume 7, Issue 1, December 2018 p-ISSN 2301-7554, e-ISSN 2541-3643 https://journal.uniku.ac.id/index.php/ERJEE 137 IMPROVING THE TENTH GRADE STUDENTS’ ENGLISH SPEAKING ABILITY THROUGH STORYTELLING Firdayanti Firdaus English Department, Faculty of Politics and Education, University of Potensi Utama, Indonesia E-mail: firdayanti.firdaus95@gmail.com Dwi Suci Amaniarsih English Department, Faculty of Politics and Education, University of Potensi Utama, Indonesia E-mail: amaniarsih86@gmail.com APA Citation: Firdaus, F., & Amaniarsih, D. S. (2018). Improving the tenth grade students’ English speaking ability through storytelling. English Review: Journal of English Education, 7(1), 137-146. doi: 10.25134/erjee.v7i1.1533. Received: 13-08-2018 Accepted: 21-10-2018 Published: 01-12-2018 Abstract: The purposes of this research are to find out; 1) how to improve English speaking ability of the tenth grade students at Harapan-I Medan through the application of storytelling method, and 2) how the students’ responses to storytelling as a learning method. This research was a Classroom Action Research applying Kemmis McTaggart Model. The research was done in two cycles in which each cycle consists of four stages: plans, actions, observations, and reflections. The subjects in this research were students of Grade X-6 of Senior High School Harapan-I Medan. The object of this study was the application of the Storytelling method to improve the students’ English speaking ability. Based on the results of the research, it was found that the percentage of completeness from pre-action, Cycle-I, and Cycle-II increased at Senior High School Harapan-I Medan. The percentage of student’s completeness in pre-action was 27%, in the Cycle-I was 47%, and in the Cycle-II was 70%. There was a significant increase (43%) from pre-action, cycle-I, and cycle-II. In addition, students’ enthusiasm, courage, and activity have also increased. Thus, it can be concluded that storytelling method has improved the speaking ability of the tenth grade students of Senior High School Harapan-I Medan and increased their response, enthusiasm, courage, and activity to speak English. Keywords: speaking ability; English; storytelling; folklore; classroom action research. INTRODUCTION English is the main medium of communication in Europe, America, Australia and Oceania, Africa, and become an international language in Asian. In Indonesia, English has been the first foreign language. As the first foreign language, it makes English become one of the compulsory subjects taught at schools in Indonesia ranging from High School to University. This is stated in the Republic of Indonesia Law Number 20 of 2003 (UU RI No. 20/2003) that the basic and secondary education curriculum must contain language education. In addition, Mendikbud (2013) notes that “English is the second language subject that must be learned after Bahasa.” According to the 2013 Curriculum, English language learning aims to make language learners able to use the language being learned in oral and written communication (UU RI No. 20/2003). In learning English, there are four skills that must be mastered, namely: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Speaking skill is the functional skill because it is used to communicate, to obtain and to convey information in daily life. Speaking is the ability to produce speech sound of the words to express and convey thoughts and feelings. The general objective of speaking is to inform, entertain, and persuade. In teaching context, teaching English speaking skills is to teach English learners to be able to; 1) produce English speech sounds and patterns; 2) use sentence, word stress, Firdayanti Firdaus & Dwi Suci Amaniarsih Improving the tenth grade students’ English speaking ability through storytelling 138 intonation, and English rhythms; 3) choose words and sentences that are appropriate to the social context, the listener, and the subject matter (deixis); 4) organize mindset meaningfully and logically; 5) use language as a tool to express values and express opinions; and 6) use language fluently and confidently without a lot of pauses (Nunan, 2003). Basically, there are at least 13 types of speaking activities, namely: 1) discussing, 2) describing images, 3) telling stories, 4) reporting news, 5) simulations, 6) interviews, 7) brainstorming, 8) completing stories, 9) finding differences, 10) telling pictures, 11) information gaps, 12) playing cards, and 13) role playing. Speaking assessment in language learning is based on two factors, namely: linguistic and non-linguistic factors. Linguistic factors include pronunciation, vocabulary, and structure, while non- linguistic factors include material, fluency and style (Haryadi & Zamzani, 1997). Further, Nurgiyantoro (2001) divided the task of speaking skills in several forms, namely: 1) speaking based on pictures, 2) interview, 3) storytelling, 4) speech, and 5) discussion. Nurgiyantoro (2001) adds that the assessment tool consists of the accuracy of information, the relationship between information, the accuracy of structure and vocabulary, fluency, the reasonableness of the discourse sequence, and the style of pronunciation. Based on several opinions and theories, the assessment of speaking skills used in this research is presented in Table 1. Table 1. The assessment of speaking ability No The Aspect Assessed Scale Level 1 Linguistics Factor: 1. pronunciation and 1 2 3 4 articulation clarity 2. Accuracy of intonation, 1 2 3 4 pressure, and volume. 3. Accuracy in the use of 1 2 3 4 structure,vocabulary, and Expression 4. Fairness of discourse 1 2 3 4 Sequence 2 Non-linguistic Factor 1. Information accuracy. 1 2 3 4 2. Relationship between 1 2 3 4 Information 3. Fluency. 1 2 3 4 4. style of speaking, attitude, 1 2 3 4 appearance, face expression, body movement. Total …….. Yet, for Indonesian people, speaking English fluently is considered difficult since the language is not used in daily communication and social interaction. It is supported by the results of the observations and interviews conducted with English teachers at Senior High School of Harapan-1 Medan in which many students were not able to speak English. It was proved when the teacher invites them to communicate in English. Many of them cannot respond and do not understand what is being conveyed. This disability is suspected because they are not used to communicating in English and inappropriate of teaching methods. In addition, many students think that speaking English is a very complex task to fulfill. Therefore, this research attempts to analyze the use of storytelling method to improve students’ speaking skills. Storytelling is a creative process that can activate not only the intellectual aspects but also the aspects of sensitivity, refinement, emotion, art, power of fantasizing, and children right and left brain (Asfandiyar, 2007). Storytelling is not just mere entertainment, but also has a higher purpose, such as the introduction of the natural environment, character, and encourage children to behave positively. The purpose of storytelling is to develop several aspects, namely aspects of language, social, emotional, cognitive, and moral development (Musfiroh, 2005). Besides, storytelling also aims to convey moral lessons without patronizing or imposing opinions (Mal, 2012). Moreover, the Ministry of Education and Culture (2018) states that storytelling aims to: 1) improve students’ literacy skills, 2) develop creativity and critical thinking skills in interpreting ENGLISH REVIEW: Journal of English Education Volume 7, Issue 1, December 2018 p-ISSN 2301-7554, e-ISSN 2541-3643 https://journal.uniku.ac.id/index.php/ERJEE 139 story content, developing stories, and appearances in public speaking, 3) develop storytelling abilities, and 4) increase self- esteem, mutual respect, totality, the spirit of hard working, and cooperating. One of the texts which is important for the character development of next generation is story. The story used in storytelling consists of: Fables, Legends, Sage, myths, Parables, Fairy Tales, and Panji Stories/Wira Cerita (Hidayani, 2013). Indonesia, which consists of various ethnicities, cultures and customs, has so many stories and this should be maintained and preserved so that students as the next generation keep familiar with their cultural roots. Thus, to maintain Indonesian stories, Legend is used in this research. METHOD This classroom action research was carried out collaboratively. In this research, the English teacher of Grade X carried out the action, while the researcher was the observer. This research used Kemmis and McTaggart classroom action research model. According to Kemmis and McTaggart, there are four stages in this research, namely: Planning/plan, Actions, Observations, and Reflections. This research was presented in two cycles. This research was conducted at Senior High School Harapan-1 Medan in the even semester of 2017/2018 Academic Year. The subjects in this research were all the students of Grade X-6 in Senior High School Harapan 1 Medan, while the object of this research was the application of storytelling to improve students’ ability to speak English. The data used were qualitative data, in the form of primary and secondary data. The primary data was obtained directly from the results of observations and interview, while the secondary data was obtained from documentation of the relevant institution or organization. Data analysis techniques used were data reduction. It is the activities of selection, simplification and transformation data of field note results. The validity and reliability of data was examined by using triangulation techniques and member check. Triangulation is a combination of various data collection techniques and sources that already exist. In this research, triangulation was carried out by observation, interviews and field notes. Moreover, the member check was done by repeating the outline that was revealed by the informant at the end of the interview to ensure the data obtained and to correct the errors or deficiencies. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The results of this research were obtained from pre-cycle, cycle I, and cycle II. The results of Pre-Cycle activities are the students’ English speaking skills before the research actions being taken. The aim was to find out the initial conditions of students’ English speaking skills. Pre-cycle activity To see the students’ ability to speak, they were orally pretested by using several narrative text stories. They were free to choose one of the stories to be retold in front of the class using their own words with duration of approximately 3-5 minutes. The result of Pre-Cycle can be seen in table 2. Table 2. The students’ speaking ability on pre-action No Respondent Pre-Cycle KKM = 70 Score Value Complete Incomplete 1 1.1 23 72 √ 2 1.2 17 53 √ 3 1.3 15 47 √ 4 1.4 10 31 √ 5 1.5 23 72 √ 6 1.6 17 54 √ 7 1.7 12 38 √ 8 1.8 12 38 √ 9 1.9 16 50 √ Firdayanti Firdaus & Dwi Suci Amaniarsih Improving the tenth grade students’ English speaking ability through storytelling 140 10 1.1 17 53 √ 11 1.11 17 53 √ 12 1.12 23 72 √ 13 1.13 19 59 √ 14 1.14 12 38 √ 15 1.15 19 59 √ 16 1.16 25 78 √ 17 1.17 16 50 √ 18 1.18 10 31 √ 19 1.19 18 56 √ 20 1.2 24 72 √ 21 1.21 16 50 √ 22 1.22 23 72 √ 23 1.23 17 53 √ 24 1.24 23 72 √ 25 1.25 16 50 √ 26 1.26 23 72 √ 27 1.27 17 53 √ 28 1.28 13 41 √ 29 1.29 17 53 √ 30 1.3 16 50 √ Total 1642 8 22 Average 55 Percentage 27% 73% Based on the table above, it can be seen that the average value of speaking skills of students in English only reaches 55. Of the 30 students, only 8 students (27%) completed, while as many as 22 students (73%) were not completed with a 70 Minimum Completeness Criteria. The results of these tests can be identified and summarized as follows: 1. Students’ speaking ability in English still looks very faltering, more passive and silent. 2. There are still many students who have difficulties in describing and telling the story. 3. Many students still do not understand the storyline. 4. There are still many students who have not been able to express stories with good gestures, so students look very stiff and awkward. 5. The students have not been able to play the intonation properly. 6. The students’ vocabulary mastery is still poor and inadequate. 7. There are still many students who have not prepared themselves well, sometimes they even seem ashamed. The analysis can be seen in the following table. Table 3. The analyses of students’ speaking ability on pre-action Category Value Range Frequency Percentage Very Good 85 – 100 - Good 75 – 84 1 3.4% Sufficient 60 – 74 7 23.3% Poor 50 – 59 15 50% Very Poor 0 – 49 7 23.3% 30 100% The results showed that there were no student in very good category, there was only 1 student (3.4%) who had the ability to speak English in good category, 7 students (23.3%) in the sufficient category, 15 students (50%) in the poor category, and 7 students (23.3%) in the very poor category. Thus, the Cycle-I action was needed to ENGLISH REVIEW: Journal of English Education Volume 7, Issue 1, December 2018 p-ISSN 2301-7554, e-ISSN 2541-3643 https://journal.uniku.ac.id/index.php/ERJEE 141 improve their speaking ability by applying storytelling method. Description of cycle-I Cycle-I action was done in two meetings. Each meeting consisted of 2x45 minutes. In this Cycle, the storytelling method was applied. The Basic Competence is “analyzing social functions, text structures, and linguistic elements in simple narrative texts in the form of folklore in accordance with the context of use”. The folklore used in this research is the Lake Toba Legend at the first meeting and Tangkuban Perahu at the second meeting. The students sat in group to make the stories based on the theme and main ideas that had been given and then retold it in front of the class in 3-5 minutes. The results can be seen in Table 4, while the analysis can be seen in Table 5. Table 4. The students’ speaking ability on cycle-I No Respondent Pre-Cycle KKM = 70 Score Value Complete Incomplete 1 1.1 23 72 √ 2 1.2 23 72 √ 3 1.3 17 53 √ 4 1.4 10 31 √ 5 1.5 25 78 √ 6 1.6 17 53 √ 7 1.7 22 69 √ 8 1.8 23 72 √ 9 1.9 16 50 √ 10 1.1 23 72 √ 11 1.11 17 53 √ 12 1.12 23 72 √ 13 1.13 19 59 √ 14 1.14 17 53 √ 15 1.15 19 59 √ 16 1.16 25 78 √ 17 1.17 16 50 √ 18 1.18 23 72 √ 19 1.19 18 56 √ 20 1.2 24 75 √ 21 1.21 16 50 √ 22 1.22 25 78 √ 23 1.23 17 53 √ 24 1.24 24 75 √ 25 1.25 23 72 √ 26 1.26 23 72 √ 27 1.27 17 53 √ 28 1.28 13 41 √ 29 1.29 17 53 √ 30 1.3 16 50 √ Total 1846 14 16 Average 62 Percentage 47% 53% Table 5. The analyses of students’ speaking ability on cycle-I Category Value Range Frequency Percentage Very Good 85 – 100 - Good 75 – 84 5 17% Sufficient 60 – 74 9 30% Poor 50 – 59 14 46% Very Poor 0 – 49 2 7% 30 100% Firdayanti Firdaus & Dwi Suci Amaniarsih Improving the tenth grade students’ English speaking ability through storytelling 142 The results showed that there was still no student in very good category. Yet, there were 5 students (17%) who had the ability to speak English in good categories. Although it is still very poor, but this number has increased compared to the results of pre- cycle that was only 1 student in a good category. There was an increase in the sufficient category from 7 to 9 students. Besides, there were decreases in poor and very poor category; from 15 to 14 students in poor category and 7 to 2 students in very poor category. Based on the observation, there has been a little progress on students’ attitude and ability in speaking. They have begun to show their courage to ask and answer questions to/from teachers and friends by using English. However, in the first cycle there are still many obstacles encountered, such as: 1) some students were still awkward and ashamed to speak, especially in front of the class. 2) the time constraints in speaking practice. 3) the teacher must prepare learning carefully like the facilities, tools, time, and energy. 4) the students seemed to get difficulties in arranging ideas, composing sentences and expressing their thoughts well. This is because they do not have much vocabulary and practice in speaking. The results showed that there has been an increase on students speaking ability but it was not significant yet. Therefore, this research should be continued to Cycle-II as an advanced stage of cycle-I by planning the things to be improved. Description of cycle-II The Cycle-II was conducted in two meetings, by 2x45 minutes for each meeting. This Cycle is a revision of previous cycle. The things that need to be improved for this Cycle are about the technique and time use and management. Here, the activities are more varied and effective. The time allocation was managed to be as effective and efficient as possible. Students were asked to sit in their group in which the students composed a story based on the theme and picture. After writing the stories, they practiced to tell the story in their own group. Then, the listeners asked the storyteller some questions related to the story. Each group member has the same chance to practice it in group for 5 minutes. After practicing in group, , they performed storytelling in front of the class randomly. The material which was presented in this second cycle was still folklore with different theme or story. The theme used in this Cycle was Malin Kundang and Roro Jonggrang. Thus, the learning process became more interesting and gave students the opportunity to practice a lot in groups before they performed the story in front of the class. The results of student learning activities in Cycle II can be seen in Table 6, while the analysis can be seen in Table 7. Table 6. The students’ speaking ability on cycle-II No Respondent Pre-Cycle KKM = 70 Score Value Complete Incomplete 1 1.1 27 84 √ 2 1.2 25 78 √ 3 1.3 19 59 √ 4 1.4 23 72 √ 5 1.5 25 78 √ 6 1.6 19 59 √ 7 1.7 23 72 √ 8 1.8 25 78 √ 9 1.9 23 72 √ 10 1.1 23 72 √ 11 1.11 23 72 √ 12 1.12 23 72 √ 13 1.13 23 72 √ ENGLISH REVIEW: Journal of English Education Volume 7, Issue 1, December 2018 p-ISSN 2301-7554, e-ISSN 2541-3643 https://journal.uniku.ac.id/index.php/ERJEE 143 14 1.14 23 72 √ 15 1.15 19 59 √ 16 1.16 27 84 √ 17 1.17 19 59 √ 18 1.18 23 72 √ 19 1.19 19 59 √ 20 1.2 24 75 √ 21 1.21 19 59 √ 22 1.22 25 78 √ 23 1.23 19 59 √ 24 1.24 24 75 √ 25 1.25 23 72 √ 26 1.26 23 72 √ 27 1.27 19 59 √ 28 1.28 15 47 √ 29 1.29 23 72 √ 30 1.3 23 72 √ Total 2085 21 9 Average 70 Percentage 70% 30% Table 7. The analyses of students’ speaking ability on cycle-II Category Value Range Frequency Percentage Very Good 85 – 100 - Good 75 – 84 8 27% Sufficient 60 – 74 13 43% Poor 50 – 59 8 27% Very Poor 0 – 49 1 3% 30 100% The table showed that there was still no student (0%) in very good category, 8 students (27%) in good category, 13 students (43%) in sufficient category, 8 students (27%) in poor category, and 1 student (3%) in very poor category. In connection with the results in the second cycle, the following important things were obtained: 1) The students’ English speaking ability has increased. 2) Almost all students seemed enthusiastic and even very enthusiastic in storytelling. 3) All students have begun to be active in learning using storytelling. 4) Some students have started more confident and courageous to tell and express stories with good gestures, although sometimes they still look stiff and awkward. 5) Many students have started to speak with a good articulation. 6) Some students have been able to play their voice intonation, so that it attracted other students to listen and pay attention. 7) Students’ vocabulary and grammar have shown an increase. The comparison of students’ speaking ability in pre-Cycle, Cycle-I, and Cycle -II can be seen in Table 8 and Chart 1. Table 8. The comparison of students’ speaking ability in pre-Cycle, Cycle-I, and Cycle -II No Research Category Student Percentage 1 Pre- Action Complete 8 27% Incomplete 22 73% 2 Cycle- I Complete 14 47% Incomplete 16 53% 3 Cycle-II Complete 21 70% Incomplete 9 30% Firdayanti Firdaus & Dwi Suci Amaniarsih Improving the tenth grade students’ English speaking ability through storytelling 144 Chart 1. The comparison of students’ speaking ability in pre-Cycle, Cycle-I, and Cycle -II Based on the chart, it can be seen that the completeness result percentage of the students' speaking ability in the pre-cycle, the first cycle, and the second cycle has increased. Then, the incompleteness decreased. In the pre-cycle, the percentage of students’ completeness was only 27%. In the first cycle, the percentage of students’ completeness increased to 47%. There were 20% increases. In the second cycle, the percentage of students’ completeness was 70%. There was 23% of increase from Cycle-I to Cycle-II. Then, there were 43% increases between pre-Cycle to Cycle-II. Moreover, the class average has increased too, from 55 in pre-Cycle, 61 in Cycle-II, and 70 in Cycle-II. Finally, this research showed that there was a significant increase in the ability of speaking after applying the storytelling method. Generally, the findings of this research indicated that storytelling method can be used to improve the students’ learning outcomes and the minimum completeness value in speaking English. This is because this method offered many opportunities for students to practice speaking in class. However, there were some obstacles faced by the teacher in applying this method, such as inadequate time for English lessons, large classes, and the target of material achievement determined by the curriculum and syllabus make the teacher less flexible in applying this method. Therefore, the addition of lessons, small class, improving facilities, and active participation of students are expected to maximize the application of the storytelling method. CONCLUSION Based on the results, it can be concluded that; First, the use of storytelling method can improve the students’ ability to speak English. There was 43% increase of the students’ speaking ability after applying the storytelling method. In the initial condition, the percentage of students’ completeness was only 27%. In the first cycle, the percentage of students’ completeness scores increased to 47%, then in the second cycle has a significant increase to 70%. If a comparison is made between students’ speaking ability at the initial conditions and after the storytelling method is applied, there is an increase in students’ speaking skills by 43%. Second, storytelling with variations in storytelling and discussion techniques in small groups can improve students’ response and enthusiasm so that students become more active because they have the same opportunity to practice speaking. Yet, some obstacles are still faced by teachers in applying this method, including inadequate time for English lessons, large classes, and targets for material achievement determined by the curriculum and syllabus which make teachers less flexible in applying this method. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank: 1. DRPM (Directorate of Research and Community Service) of the General Directorate of Research Strengthening and Development, KEMENRISTEKDIKTI (Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education) for funding this research in ENGLISH REVIEW: Journal of English Education Volume 7, Issue 1, December 2018 p-ISSN 2301-7554, e-ISSN 2541-3643 https://journal.uniku.ac.id/index.php/ERJEE 145 accordance with the Research Contract for Fiscal Year 2018. 2. University of Potensi Utama for supporting and giving attention to this research. REFERENCES Asfandiyar, A. Y. (2007). Cara pintar mendongeng. Jakarta: Mizan. Brown, H. D. (2001). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy. San Fransisco: Longman. Depdiknas. (2003). Undang-Undang RI. No 20 Tahun 2003 pasal 37 tentang sistem pendidikan nasional. Jakarta: Depdiknas. Harmer, J. (2001). How to teach English. England: Longman. Haryadi & Zamzani. (1997). Peningkatan keterampilan berbahasa Indonesia. Jakarta: Dirjen Dikti. 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