IMPROVING THE SEVENTH GRADE STUDENTS’ ACTIVE PARTICPATION AND PREPOSITION ACHIEVEMENT THROUGH INDIVIDUAL AND COMPOSITE PICTURES AT SMP NEGERI 1 SUMBERASIH PROBOLINGGO IN THE 2013/2014 ACADEMIC YEAR

Abstract

This Classroom Action Research was intended to improve the seventh grade students’ active participation and preposition achievement by using individual and composite pictures at SMPN 1 Sumberasih Probolinggo in te 2013/2014 Academic Year. Based on the preliminary study in the form of the interview with the English teacher of SMPN 1 Sumberasih Probolinggo, it was known that the students of class VII E had difficulties in mastering prepositions because they did not know well about the use of prepositions and they often forgot the meaning. Besides, the students also did not participate actively in the classroom during the teaching and learning process of prepositions. In general English test, their grammar achievement was still low which could be seen from the average score of their test, which was 69 which did not reach the standard score in that school, that is 72. The researcher tried to overcome the problem by using individual and composite pictures as teaching media in teaching prepositions of time and place. The data collection methods used were preposition test and the observation in the form of checklist to get the primary data. The data were analyzed statistically. The action was implemented in two cycles in order to achieve the criteria of success of this classroom action research. The first cycle was done in three meetings including the test. The result of the classroom observation showed that there were 53.13% (17 students) and in the second meeting, there were 68.75% (22 students) who were actively participated during the teaching and learning process of prepositions of time and place through individual and composite pictures. It showed that there was improvement of the students’ active participation from the first meeting to the second meeting but it did not achieve the target criteria of success of the research yet that was 75% or more of the students who were active in the teaching and learning process of prepositions. In addition, the result of preposition test in the first cycle showed that there were 16 students of 32 students (50%) who got score ≥72. Besides, the mean score of the students’ preposition test was 68.56. It means that the result of the students’ preposition test in cycle 1 did not achieve the target mean score yet that was 75% of the students could achieve the standard score, that is ≥72. Based on the results of the first cycle above, the actions were continued to the second cycle because the result of the first cycle did not achieve the criteria of success of the research yet. Therefore, the second cycle was conducted by revising some necessary aspects relating to the use of individual and composite pictures in teaching and learning process of prepositions of time and place. The classroom observation and preposition test in the second cycle showed an improvement. In the classroom observation, the students’ active participation improved from 73.33% (22 students) in the first meeting and 81.25% (26 students) in the second meeting. In addition, the result of preposition test revealed that 87.5% (28 students) who got score ≥72. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the actions in the second cycle had achieved the criteria of success of the research. The results of the first cycle to the second cycle showed an improvement of the success criteria, that is 75% or more. Therefore, it can be summarized that the use of individual and composite pictures could improve the seventh grade students’ active participation and preposition achievement at SMPN 1 Sumberasih Probolinggo in the 2013/2014 academic year.