CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
English
is the most well known language in the
world. It is spoken as a first language by millions of people and used as a
means of communication by many more all over the world. People in non-English
speaking countries like Japan, China, Malaysia and Indonesia learn English
as a second or foreign language. We need
English to get involved in international society.
Teaching
English has existed in Indonesia for many years. It used to focus on vocabulary
and grammar structures. Today language
use in social contexts is emphasized. Teachers are expected to help students to be able to communicate in English.
The language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing; must be taught integratively
and holistically.
English
subject has been introduced for almost
ten years in Indonesian elementary schools. It began to be applied at fourth
grade. Because the characteristics of elementary school students are different
from those of secondary school students, our government constructs curriculum,
which is suitable for young children. English subject in elementary school covers oral communication ability limitedly in school
context. Reading and writing skills are supposed to support oral communication
learning (listening and speaking skills). The materials focus on language
accompanying action. By learning English, elementary school students are expected
to be able to use English to accompany action, participate in classroom and school
interactions, and recognize simple written English.
In
this study I focused on teaching listening to the fifth grade students of elementary
school. Listening is the skill that children acquire first, especially if they have
not yet learnt to read and write. Listening is different from hearing. In
hearing we just perceive sounds with our ears. But when we are listening to
something, there will be more complicated processes in our brain. So when
children listen to the teacher, they will acquire the language and absorb the
sounds and patterns of the language naturally (Slattery and Willis, 2001: 20).
It implies that teacher should talk in English for all purposes in class, so
students will imitate him.
Language
learning is a hard task, which can sometimes be frustrating. In fact, most of
our language learning comes from listening. At their age, children still find difficulty
in learning their mother tongue
(Javanese) and second language (Indonesian).
So since English is a foreign language for Indonesian children, we must choose
appropriate teaching methods which will
make them not afraid of English.
Children are often more enthusiastic and
lively in learning something new. They will make an attempt to get involved in
an activity even when they do not quite understand why or how. However, they
also lose interest more quickly and they are \less able to keep themselves
motivated on tasks they find difficult.
Therefore, they need interesting technique, which can keep them motivated in
learning. Many forms of interesting techniques can be found easily like using
songs, games and stories. For this study I chose to use stories as an
alternative technique in teaching listening.
Story
is one of the most familiar texts for children. Indonesia itself has many sophisticated
kinds of traditional stories like fable, myth and legend. Our parents or grandparents
often do storytelling, especially when we are going to bed. That is why most
children love stories. Stories offer a whole imaginary world, created by language??????
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