HOW TO IMPROVE SPEAKING SKILL OF ENGLISH DEPARTMENT STUDENTS

ABSTRACT

Speaking is the first way to interact with others in the social community. Furthermore,
the success in learning a language at first can be seen from the ability of the learner’s speaking.
However, it is very hard for the beginners to speak the foreign language, especially English.
There are a lot of reasons why they get difficulties in speaking, such as lack of ideas to tell, lack
of vocabularies to express the ideas, lack of the chance to speak, and lack of the interesting
teaching method that can motivate them to speak. Storytelling and interview improved their
comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. Thus, it can be said that
storytelling and interview could improve students’ speaking skill.

Keyword: speaking skill; storytelling; interview technique.

 1. INTRODUCTION

In this era of globalization, many Indonesians use some limited English in daily
communications besides using Indonesian and their local language, or mother tongue. Using
English in conversation is important, especially in English Department students. It is the most
important skill from amongst the four skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. The
researcher believes that skill in speaking is a priority for many English foreign language learners
in evaluating their success in learning, on the basis of how fluent they feel that they have become
in their spoken English foreign language. To become a capable speaking of English for the
English foreign language learner is very significant. Therefore, the student must pay great
attention to learning well in order that they can speak English well (Richards, 1990; Richards &
Renandya, 2002).

People think that the ability to speak a language is the same as knowing that language.
They suppose speech to be the most basic means of human communication and demand that
English students be able to speak the target language well. The parameter of learning English
that they use is being able to speak English fluently. However, the fact shows several students
cannot speak English fluently and accurately although they have studied it for more than 6 years.
Based on the observation, most students think that speaking a foreign language, especially
English, is difficult. What makes it challenging is that there are many things to consider. Take
for example, the complicated grammar such as the reduced forms of contraction, vowel
reduction, and the different structures of English from their mother tongue, the use of slang or
idioms, intonation, and aspect of society. Thus, the students are apt to sound bookish when they
practice speaking. This becomes the reasons why the students are frustrated when they have to
speak in a real interaction. As students in English Department, they must be able to speak
English fluently and accurately. When they have to teach English later, it is unavoidable to
speak. Teachers as models for students have to provide a good example to speak. However the
fact shows some of English department students cannot speak English fluently and accurately.
They tend to use mother tongue or first language rather than practicing English (Adiningtyas,
2012). These are actually caused by the low mastery of vocabulary, English structure, and
pronunciation.

One of four skills that must be mastered is speaking. Speaking is a skill that should be
mastered by someone who uses English to communicate with the other person. The students can
express their ideas, wishes, opinion and attitude in speaking. Then the partner must pay attention
to the speaker to decode the message and finally is able to give appropriate responses to the
partner (Boer, 1982:142). So, speaking helps other to know you and it help you to know others.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

Speaking that is a verbal language that functions to convey messages and ideas. Brown
(2000) says speaking is an interactive process of construction of meaning. It involves producing
and receiving information. Speaking requires learners to know how to produce and understand an
utterance, why, and in what ways to produce language (social competence). Thus in speaking, a
speaker tends to be getting something done, exploring ideas, working out some aspect of the
world, or simply being together. Speaking is a speech production that becomes a part of our daily
activities, Thornburry (2005:8). While Underwood (1997:11) says that speaking means creative
process an active interaction between speaker and listener that involves thought and emotion.
Speaking involves three areas of knowledge. They are mechanics pronunciation, grammar, and
vocabulary. It is the ability to use the right words in the right order with the correct
pronunciation, function transaction and interaction.

Harmer (2001) states speaking happens when people are engaged in talking. It can be
fairly sure that they are doing so for good reason. They want to say something to achieve their
purposes and they also select their language store. This is in tune with Cameron (2001) that says
speaking is an active use of language to express meaning so that other people can make sense of
them. These need learners to master grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary in order to achieve
the meaning accurately. Form and meaning depend on the context in which the participants
themselves consider collective experience, physical environment, and purpose of speaking.

Function of Speaking there are several attempts that have been made to determine the
function of speaking in a human interaction. In terms of form and function, speaking requires a
different approach. Brown and Yule ( 1983 ) make a useful distinction between the interactional
function of speaking, in which it serves to establish and maintain social relation, and the
transactional functions, which focus on the exchange of information.. The first function serves to
establish and maintain relation. It normally refers to a conversation and it also describes the
interaction that serves a primarily social function. The second function that is called transactional
one focuses on the exchange of information. This refers to situations when speakers concern with
what is said or done. This means the message and making oneself understood clearly and
accurately is the main focus rather than how they interact socially and the participants. The last
function is speaking as a performance. This refers to public talks that transmit information before
public announcements, speeches or classroom presentation. The form of it tends to be monolog;
take for example a welcoming speech that often follows a recognized format. The form is close
to the written form as well
 3. DISCUSSION

How to improve speaking skill used by an English Department students, especially the
learning strategies in improving component especially vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, and
fluency.

 Storytelling

Storytelling can improve students speaking competence. When storytelling were

implemented in teaching speaking it could improve the students’ fluency, grammar,
pronunciation, vocabulary, and content. Besides, the using of storytelling can improve classroom
situation of speaking class better.

Storytelling can improve speaking skill of English Department students are as follow:

a. The students’ grammar improved.

Some sentence from storytelling help them in making good sentence.

b. The students’ vocabulary improved

Some words from storytelling enrich their vocabulary. By practising the storytelling, the
students can use the appropriate vocabulary. They also able to make sentence in various
words or not monotonous words

c. The students’ content improved

Practice and practice in telling the story make their competence in content more better.

d. The students’ fluency improved.

Because the students were free in express their idea so they can telling the story fluently.

The strangeness of speaking using storytelling are the students feel that the lecturer is
giving them something very personal, It is often easier to understand a story being told than one
which is read aloud because storytelling give motivation, meaning, fluency, language awareness,
and stimulus for the students speaking. Beside storytelling made them eagerness for the model
and tried to tell the story.
  Interview

Interview is of suitable ways in improving students’ speaking skills. They are given the
opportunity to speak freely and communicatively, although it isn’t like the native speaker.
Interview is a technique that encourages the students to express student’s ideas, emotions or
feeling and problem. With interview technique lecture can provides the students in English
Department with the opportunity to demonstrate that they can communicate freely in English
exactly like native speaker, it is expected to improve speaking skill in English Department
students. It is done to create real communication experiences. Interview encourage the students
speak English more than their lecturer. The lecturer is only guide to make conversation run
smoothly. There are various reasons to apply this technique. Firstly, the students have time to
express their ides and then practice their speaking skill in interview. By this technique, students
can improve their conversation by such expression as asking opinion, giving opinion, agreeing
opinion, and disagreeing opinion.

The benefits of doing interview in speaking skill:

a. The drive to communicate is uncourageous, as students ask questions and answer

questions.
b. Students are control of their own vocabulary in English speaking skill.
c. Interviewing unifies all the language process.
d. Students discovered language rules and conversations about language based on their own
experiences and observation.

By doing interview technique in teaching speaking skill, expected that the students’ skill
in speaking would be improved.
 4. CONCLUSION

Speaking skill is very important for us, especially in English Department students.
Students’ speaking skill needs serious. Some students have problems with their vocabulary
grammar, and pronunciation. Lecturer must have an appropriate technique to cope the problem.
He also needs to pay enough attention and give motivation to the students. Storytelling and
interview are techniques that can be used to improve speaking skill of English Department
students.

It can be concluded that storytelling and interview can improve the students' speaking
skill of English Department students. The improvements of the students’ speaking skills, are in
terms of pronunciation, structure, vocabulary, fluency, and content. The students were improve
their speaking because of their effort in speaking activity. They were participate in practice
interview and storytelling.

5. RECOMMENDATION

The suggestion from the writer is English lecturer should be more creative in presenting
the meaningful materials to make the students interested in studying, especially in improving
their speaking skill. Lecturer should also use many and various techniques for teaching speaking
since this can lead to innovative and creative thinking from the students and can make classes
more lively and interesting. In addition, English lecturer has to continue conducting further
research and applying storytelling and interview to other language skills such as listening,
reading and writing.

Students also should not be shy to practice speaking English and should not worry about
making mistakes, they should be active and creative in enriching their speaking, besides that,
students should practice speaking inside and outside of the classroom at every chance they get
and lastly students should ask the lecturer if there is something that they do not understand.
 REFERENCES

Akhyak. Anik Indramawan. (2013). Improving the Students’ English Speaking Competence
through Storytelling. East Java, Indonesia: International Journal of Language and Literature.
Vol.1. No. 2.

Sianipar, Tria Romauli. Regina. Iwan Supardi. (2014). Improving Students’ Speaking Skill
Through Interview Technique. On the Web at http://www.jurnal.untan.ac.id.

Anjaniputra, Agung Ginanjar. (2013). Teacher’s Strategies in Teaching Speaking. Journal of

English and Education. Vol. 1. No. 2.

HOW TO IMPROVE SPEAKING SKILL OF ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

STUDENTS
(Scientific Writing)
 Lecturer: Drs. Akhmad Sutiyono, M.Pd.

By:
Name : Tiara Safitri
NPM : 151220107
Class : V B

SEKOLAH TINGGI KEGURUAN DAN ILMU PENDIDIKAN

PERSATUAN GURU REPUBLIK INDONESIA
(STKIP – PGRI BANDAR LAMPUNG)
2017/2018