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push the students to reformulate their own
utterances.
There are various tasks that the students can
complete during the pair and group work
interactions. Brown suggests that the students can
overcome their difficulties in language form by
doing activities such as practicing dialogues with
partner, simple question and answer exercises,
performing certain meaningful substitute, and
checking written work with each other (Brown;
2001; 163). Other speaking activities which are
suitable for advanced language learners such as
conversation, interview, a class survey, discussion,
academic presentation, storytelling, jokes, drama,
role play and simulation can be conducted in the
pattern of student-studentinteraction as pair work
and group activities (Magdalena Alexsandrzak:
2011).
3 METHOD
The participants involvedin this study were the
researcher who also acts as the lecturer teaching
Speking III, a colaborator and 15 students of English
Department of their third semester of 2018/2019
academic year at Pamulang University, South
Tangerang, Indonesia. Being a lecture-reseracher
gives opportunities for the researcher to actively
engage in reflection and examination into facts
particularly problems occured in class and look for
the solution (Coborouglu: 2014). The observer was
the researcher’s colleaguewho has been a lecturer of
English for more than 15 years. She helped the
researcher planning, observing, and volunteering
ideas during the classroon action research
implementation. The fifteen students taking
Speaking III class were redomly choosen. The
course they were taking was available at the time the
researcher conducting the reseach.
The students’ speaking skills was not
satisfactory. Based on the results of an interview and
observation to get initial data of students’ speaking
skills, it indicated that the students had problems in
speaking due to lack of four English aspects:
grammar, vocabulary, comprehension, fluency, and
pronunciation.To solve the problems, the reshearcer
conducted a classroom action research (CAR)
through three cycles. It focuses on the common issue
or the existence problems in the classroom
(Fraenkel&Wallen: 2009). Each cycle consists of
four steps namely planning, action, observation, and
reflection (Kemmis and Mc Taggart; 1988 in Anne
Burn; 2010). Plan for the first cycle is made based
on the results of observation, pre-test score, and an
interview. The second cycle is based on students’
test scores and reflection at the first cycle. The third
cycle is carried out with similar proceduresdone at
second cycle.
The data consist of two: quantitative and
qualitative data. The quantitative data in number
were taken from the results of pre-test, test in each
cycle, and post-test. The pre-test is conducted to
measure the students’ present achievement and post-
test is to compare students’ progress after being
taught. The test at the end of each cycle is to see
whether there is improvement after taking the action.
The variable measured for each test are the fifth of
speaking components: grammar, vocabulary,
comprehension, fluency, and pronunciation. The
rubric or assessment criteria for each speaking
component is adopted from Brown and Priyanvada
(2010). The qualitative data written in the form of
words are (1) the result of initial interview and
observation conducted before planning the first
action, (2) observation carried out during classroom
interaction in each cycle, and (3) semi-structure
interview to obtain students’ comments on the
implementation of task-based learning at the end of
learning.
To optimize the students’ speaking development,
the researcher adopted task-based learning. The
students were provided with various tasks that
demand negotiation in both form and meaning. They
experienced speaking performance such as
information gap, short role play, conversation,
interview, brainstorming, discussion, problem
solving, storytelling, drama, and simulation. The
students were given feedback and chance to report to
the whole class or comment on each the task used,
therefore they learned to manage and evaluate their
learning process.
4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
In the planning section, the researcher together with
the lecturer planned and decided various
communication tasks to facilitate the students
develop their speaking skill, particularly the fifth
elements of language. Lesson plans, teaching
materials, and teaching aids were prepared. The
tasks provided were practicing dialogues with
partner, simple question and answer exercises,
performing certain meaningful substitute,
conversation, interview, discussion, information gap
activities, storytelling, drama, role play and
simulation. These tasks were carried out at the action
Developing Students’ Speaking Skills through Task-based Learning
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