Improving Students Listening Skill by Using Songs (An Action Research at the Tenth Grade Students of MA Al-Abror Berruh

2013

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 1

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background of Study Inspired from some researches about teaching and learning English as a second and foreign language, especially in listening skill, there are some obstacles faced by students and teachers, are such as using unsuitable methods by the teachers and lack of motivation from the students. Problem existing in students poor mastery of English listening skill is most of they have very short attention span and lack of motivation. The teachers have to find the suitable methods to the students in order to make them interest in learning English. So, the goal of teaching listening is hoped can be reached. As we know we can speak only if we understand what is said. In fact, people cannot talk if they cannot hear other peoples talk. That simply means there is not enough language input and there is no output. No deaf person can speak clearly because he cannot hear clearly. Furthermore, listening skill is one of the basics of languages learning and acquiring them is very important in language learning. Moreover, with the development of high technology, we more and more rely on our ears to get information. There is no doubt that the speed of getting information is faster through listening than reading. Thus, it is crucial to improve the level of listening comprehension of the students. As a foreign language, English has four skills (reading, listening, writing, and speaking) that have to be mastered by the students. From these skills, listening is a skill that felt difficult to be mastered, because it needs more attention

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 2

and concentration to comprehend the sounds (listening material).It can be said that listening is not a passive skill; the process of listening is a complex process in which many things happen simultaneously inside the mind. Besides being complex, listening is far more difficult than many people can imagine . There are some reasons why listening comprehension feels difficult to be mastered by the students. First, the students begin to learn English by the way of reading, instead of listening. In fact, reading is different from listening, like writing is different from speech. The biggest difference is that speech consists of sounds. Listeners must know the sound system; otherwise, they cannot understand speech. Moreover, writing uses different language. Written English consists of neat, correct sentences, while speech does not. Second, the materials of listening comprehension are usually read by English speaking people. There are different accents, difficult idioms and unfamiliar language chunks in their speaking. This is another difficulty. For the students, their English teachers are usually local people. So the students may not be used to the accents of the foreign people. It is hard for them to understand native speakers. Third, when English-speaking people speak English, they usually speak at a normal speed. It is too fast for the students to follow. When listening, the students cannot choose a comfortable listening speed; they have to keep pace with the speakers thinking process. So sometimes they have not even got the meaning of the first sentence, before the second sentence has already passed. Their results show that they have missed the whole passage.

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 3

Fourth, the contents of the tape are not always familiar with the students. Some of them are not relevant to the students. The students may lack the background knowledge about foreign countries and cultures. So sometimes they cannot understand the material or they may misunderstand the meaning of it. Based on observation that researcher done it has found some difficulties for the students to understand English through listening. The problems of students are different. In junior high schools, there are no language labs to train their listening skills. Listening activities are not common for the students. When they come to senior high school, they cannot adjust their study habits very quickly. They still rely on their eyes instead of their ears to learn English. The students usually feel confused when they listen to some new text. Over 50% of the students could not understand the meaning of the material after playing the tape for the first time. Expecting them to understand the material, the teacher often gives them some instructions and to play the tape again, at least three times. Still, at least 20% of students might not understand it. Then, the teacher sometimes has to stop the tape to explain the difficult or unfamiliar words and occasionally explain material sentence by sentence through the whole text. So, this is a serious problem because some students cannot understand the whole text after listening to it three times in class. Furthermore, the students might gradually lose their self-confidence. They are afraid to go to the lab to listen to English again. When they are face to face with listening material, they have little confidence in their listening comprehension abilities. Therefore, they may not understand them because they have to battle the psychological suggestion that they could not understand spoken English.

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 4

The teachers are difficult to find the suitable method or technique to stimulate students in learning listening. If a teacher always uses the same technique, they may be able to predictable and, perhaps, less interesting for their students. The students have poor mastery of English listening skill because they have lack of. The stimulate is much needed in learning listening, because sometimes students have to hear the fast sounds or words more than one to be understood. Without high stimulate, they will be bored and can stop learning, and the goal of education cannot be reached. It will be dangerous if there is no effort to reduce the problem. In order to overcome above problems, it is better to use a suitable method in teaching listening. We can use some activities that can stimulate the students to their listening skill. The activities such as watching a film, listen to news report, and listen to English songs. In watching a film, we can cover the subtitle with a piece of paper for a few minutes and try to predict what is going to happen. In listen to news report, we can choose the topic that interests us such as about sport, fashion, or education. When listening, we can write the vocabulary that appear on the particular topic. In listening English songs, we can listen to the pronunciation of words and sing along with the songs. Listening English song is more interesting than the other activities. English songs are a great language package that bundles culture, vocabulary, listening, grammar and a host of other language skills in just a few rhymes. Songs can also provide a relaxed lesson on a hot boring day. It can also form the basis for many lessons. It can be used for a wide variety of English for foreign language learning and teaching activities. It can start discussions on a topic or even become the

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 5

centre of debate (Futonge, 2005). Using songs in the classroom is a great way to live up listening activities. It can be added a couple of steps that have been used with success to the process though to make the listening activities more effective. Therefore, the researcher tries to reduce the problems of the students listening comprehension and intends to find out what can be done to help them improve their listening skill. So, in this research the researcher would like to use songs to improve the tenth Grade students listening skill at Madrasah Aliyah (MA) AlAbror Berruh Pamekasan. 1.2 The Statements of Problems Related to the background of the study above, the writer attempts to give appropriate answers of these problem as follow: 1. What the use of english song in improving students listening skill at the tenth grade of MA Al-Abror Berruh Pamekasan? 1.3 The Objectives of the Study The objective of this research was to find out whether using songs can improve the tenth grade students listening skill at Madrasah Aliyah (MA) AlAbror Berruh Pamekasan. 1.4 The Significance of Study By conducting this research the writer greatly expects that the finding will be useful for: 1.4.1 The English Teacher in improving the quality of English Teaching and

1. It can be reference

Learning process in formal education.

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 6

2. It can be good alternative suggestion to the teacher how they teach english well. 3. It can support the teacher in the teacher in making some good strategies for their teaching english process. 1.4.2 The Students

1. This research can give motivation effeciently to the student. 2. This research tries to increase their spirit in the learning english 3. This research can give axperiences for students in improving their skill 1.4.3 The Other Researcher

1. This study will give some specific information connected to learners listening. 2. Reference for further research 1.5 The Scope and Limitation of Study There were some activities that can improve students listening skill, such as listen to films, listen to news reports, and listen to English songs. In this study, the problem was limited on improving the first class students listening skill by using songs at Madrasah Aliyah (MA) Al-Abror Berruh Pamekasan 1.6 Definition of Key Term To avoid misunderstanding from the readers it needs explaining about the term used in this peper. The terms are: 1.6.1 Improving is the act of enhancing or making better in terms of quality, value or usefulness. This can be by making ideas, objects or processes more desirable by adding or removing components. The term can be also

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 7

be applied to people as well, via method such as performance reviews which are meant to try and improving an employee in some manner. http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/improve.html 1.6.2 Technigue is a systematic procedure, formula, or routine by which a task is accomplished.http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/technique.ht ml

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 8

CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Listening Skill In Indonesia, English as a foreign language has been learned at school, from elementary school until senior high school. It has four skills that have to be mastered by students. These skills are reading, listening, writing, and speaking. From these skills, listening is a skill that felt difficult to be mastered, because it needs more attention and concentration to comprehend the sounds (listening material From the verse above, it can be concluded that hearing carefully (listening) is a process to start mind. Equally, by listening we can learn and understand many lessons. 2.1.1 Definition of Listening Skill As defined by oxford (1993: 206), listening is a complex problem solving skill and it is more than just perception ofthe sounds. Listening includes

comprehension of meaning words, phrases, clauses, sentences, and connected discourse. Furthermore, according to Bulletin in Saricoban (1999), listening is one of the fundamental language skills. It is a medium through which children, young people and adults gain a large portion of their information, their understanding of the world and of human affairs, their ideals, sense of values, and their appreciation. Rivers in Hasyuni (2006: 8) says that listening is a creative skill. It means we comprehend the sound falling on our ears, and take the raw material of words,

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 9

arrangements of words, and the rise and fall the voice, and from this material we creative a significance. Russel and Russel in Hasyuni (2006:8) also say that listening skill is listening with comprehension, attention and appreciation. Then, listening activity needs integrating skill of language, such as pronunciation, vocabulary mastery, writing, speaking, and reading. Listening skill can be meant as ability to pay attention or to hear something. But, listening is not same as hearing. Hearing is essentially an automatic, passive activity. It is possible to hear sounds without consciously engaging in the process. While, in listening the brain doesnt automatically translate the words into the message they are conveying. That is essentially what listening is determining the meaning and the message of the sounds or words. It is active process that involves much more than assigning labels to sounds or words. As mentioned in Mee (1990), listening is a complex process in which many things happen simultaneously inside the mind. Besides being complex, listening is far more difficult than many people can imagine. So, we can say that listening is the ability to identify and understand what others are saying. It is also a complex activity, and we can help students comprehend what they hear by activating their prior knowledge. Furthermore, it will consider another way teachers can help ease the difficulty of listening by training students in different types of listening. 2.1.2 Difficulties in Listening Skill Listening is usually a hard skill to master by the students. The first reason is that the students do not have the text in front of them to look at if they do not understand the information. A second reason is the accent and intonation of the

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 10

native English speaker. In addition, each country has dialects and regional accents which can confuse the listener. All of these make listening learning a major challenge and it is no surprise that the students can find it difficult. Ur (1996: 111), says that there are some students difficulties in learning listening: trouble with sounds, have to understand every word, cant understand fast and natural native speech, need to hear things more than once, find it difficult to keep up, and get tired. The other problem in learning listening is the students have no control over the speed of what they are hearing and they cannot go back or rewind to listen again. Although, in class the listening materials are recorded and can be played again or students to listen again, it is usually under the control. Also, because the speed at which native speakers usually speak, students feel that the teacher asks the students to listen to the overall message and forget about what they could not catch, which probably means what they did not understand, the teacher has no idea that sometimes what they do not really understand can add up to 75% of what is heard (Rixon, 1986: 37) Moreover, Underwood (1989: 17) mentions some other kinds of difficulties that are directly related to the students themselves. One of the problems which the students have established learning habits in the sense that they were encouraged to understand everything by listening carefully to teachers who probably speak slowly and clearly. Hence, when they fail to understand every word while listening, they stop listening and lose the thread, which seems to be the reason for state of panic and worrying they usually show before and during listening.

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 11

In relation to those problems, we cannot deny that students motivation plays important role in learning listening. As mentioned in Brown (2006: 1), another theme will be motivation. Because listening is so challenging, teachers need to think carefully about making the activities successful and the content interesting. We can create the interest activity in learning listening such as by listening English songs. By creating of high students motivation, it hoped can reduce the listening difficulties. Furthermore, the students will be stimulated and not be panic or worry when they are learning listening. As mentioned in background, the students of MA Al-Abror are very difficult understand English through listening. The students could not understand the meaning of the material after playing the tape for the three times in class. Furthermore, the students might gradually lose their self-confidence. They are afraid to go to the lab to listen to English again. When they are face to face with listening material, they have little confidence in their listening comprehension abilities. Therefore, they may not understand them because they have to battle the psychological suggestion that they could not understand spoken English. 2.1.3 Principles of Teaching Listening Skill When teaching listening skill, the teachers have to know the principles. There are some principles of teaching listening skill (http://teachinglistening comprehension.html), they are: a. Listening should receive primary attention in the early stage of ESL instruction. b. Maximize the use of material that is rele vant to students real life. c. Maximize the use of authentic language.

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 12

d. Vary the materials in terms of speakers gender, age, dialect, accent, topic, speed, noise, level, and genre. e. Always ask students to listen with a purpose and allow them to show their comprehension in a task. f. Language material intended to be used for training listening comprehension should never be presented visually first. Furthermore, the teachers have to take attention the principles in teaching listening skill. As mentioned above, one of the principles in teaching listening is the teachers always ask students to listen with the purpose of listening. So, we can help students listen more effectively if we spend some time teaching them about purposes for listening. One way to do that is to use a simple dialogue in order to show how they might listen differently depending on their goals. 2.1.4 Listening Material The material is very important for the students to improve their listening skill. A suitable material can make the students want to learn. The material which suitable with the students have to interesting, in the right level of students difficulty, and presented in various activities (Puspita in Hasyuni 2006: 4). The interesting materials that are familiar meaningful and various should be provided for the students. It can help them to understand more easily. Beside of that, the material should be as natural as possible in order that students can practice and imitate the original voice from the speakers. As mentioned by Paulston in Hasyuni (2006: 4), listening materials should consist of sample of natural language from as many different sources as possible, so the students will have experience with many varieties of topics and situations.

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 13

In concluding, the teachers are better to know the students interest in learning listening with kind activities. If not, students will get bored and do not want to learn anymore. The use of songs also can motivate the students to attend lesson and pay attention in class, because songs can be used for a wide variety of learning and teaching activities. 2.1.5 A Good Listener The students can be said that they are good in listening if they are active in learning listening process (Http://www.learningthroughlistening.org). The

characteristics of active listeners as below: a. Make eye contact/follow the listening b. Summarize the listening material has heard c. Make connection what are hearing to what already know d. Ask and answer the question during the learning listening process. In other hand, Saricoban (1999) says that a good listener is one who has the enabling skills. The enabling skill characterizes the listener can follow the material by well. The skills are: a. predicting what people are going to talk about b. guessing at unknown words or phrases without panic c. using ones own knowledge of the subject to help one understand d. identifying relevant points; rejecting irrelevant information e. retaining relevant points (note-taking, summarizing) f. recognizing discourse marker, cohesive devices, including linking words, pronouns, references, etc g. understanding different intonation patterns and uses of stress

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 14

h. understanding inferred information. In summary, the students are said well in listening skill if they are active when learning listening. The activeness can be seen from the students motivation and enthusiasm during learning listening. The students who active in listening are characterized they always focus on what they hear, they ask and answer the questions, and they can make a summary from the materials given in the postlistening. 2.1.6 Types of Listening Activities We always have a purpose for listening. We may listen to radio in the morning to know the up to date reports. We may listen to a song for pleasure. We listen in different ways based on our purpose. Having a purpose helps us listen more effectively. There are some types of activities that can be applied in learning listening. Ur (1996: 113) provides four of listening activities as follow: a. No overt response, the students do not have to do anything in response to the listening; however facial expression and body language often show if they are following or not. It includes stories, songs, and entertainment. b. Short responses, includes obeying instructions, ticking of items, true/false, detecting mistakes, cloze, guessing definitions, and skimming and scanning. c. Longer responses, includes answering questions, note-taking, paraphrasing and translating, summarizing, and long gap-filling. d. Extended responses, here, the listening as only a jump -off point for extended reading, writing or speaking: in other words, there are combined skills activities. It includes problem-solving and interpretation.

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 15

Beside of that, there are the other activities to improve listening skill that provided by PolyU ELC (http://elc.polyu.edu.hk): a. Listen to English pop songs, includes write a summary, sing along with the melody, do a cloze exercise, and dictate lyrics. b. Listen to TV news reports, includes predications keep a diary, and record the news. c. Listen to film, includes read film reviews, make a gap-filling exercise, cover the subtitles, and read the novel of the film. d. Listen to TV programs or videos, includes follow instructions without looking at the screen, cover the subtitles, and watch the first language version in advance. e. Listen to radio, includes listen to fast speech, approach other resources in advance, listen to colloquial expressions, and write a summary. From the types of listening above, it is regarded that songs activity can be used in learning listening process, and it will be hoped can motivate students in improving their listening skill. 2.2 Song According to Hornby (1990: 1133), song is a piece of music with words that is sung. Song is also a great language package that bundles culture, vocabulary, listening, grammar and a host of other language skills in just a few rhymes. Songs can also provide a relaxed lesson on a hot boring day. They can also form the basis for many lessons (Futonge, 2005). Almost everyone loves songs. It is a part of our language and life from before birth onwards. As a baby, we often hear our mother and father sing a song

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 16

to deliver us sleep in the bedroom. When young children, we play, sing, and dance to a rhymes. As adolescents, we are consumes by the beat of popular songs artist in the world. As adults, we often hear song on television, movies, theater, and even nightly news. When we work, when we play, song is there to reinforce or every mood and emotion. From explanation above, we are suggested to include songs in language learning as well. Songs had heard by the people in the world since they are born until died. So, listening to the songs has been a habitual and liked by everybody. Beside of that, by songs we can provide a relaxed lesson on a hot boring day. 2.2.1 The Use of Song as Authentic Listening Material The use of authentic materials is an important factor to take into consideration when designing listening skill materials. By using such listening materials, the learner is given the chance to develop the skills needed to comprehend and to use language that is commonly found in real situations. Therefore, it is important to take the opportunity wherever possible to expose students to example of real language usage to help them become more communicatively competent. According to Ur (1996: 107), listening activities based on simulated real life situation and likely to be most interesting and motivating to do than contrived textbook comprehension exercise. The following features characterize real life listening activity: a. We listen for a purpose and with certain expecting b. We make an immediately response to what we hear c. We see the person we are listening to

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 17

d. There are some visual or environment clues as to the meaning of what is heard e. Stretches of hand discourse is spontaneous and therefore differs from formal spoken prose in the amount of redundancy, noise and colloquialism, and it is auditory character. From the features above, song is one of the authentic listening materials. Ross (2006) says that the example of authentic listening materials is listening to song to learn more about well-known bands that sing in English. As we know wherever we are, songs always follow us at home, at school, at office, at cars, and so on. So, we can directly listen to the song and also interest to learn the value of language in it. When designing lessons and teaching materials to further develop listening comprehension skills, students need to be motivated and stay motivated. This is best accomplished by determining the suitable of the listening material such as the use of song as authentic material. The use of song stimulates and motivates students to comprehend the content of materials. 2.2.2 Factors Contributing to Listening Comprehension of Song The possibility of using songs in English as a foreign language class has been actively considering for the last two decades. It is considered because songs have many value of language. Orlova (2003), states that it is possible to suggest that among the methodological purposes with songs are used in class, it is possible to rank the following: a. Practicing the rhythm, stress and the intonation patterns of the English language. b. Teaching vocabulary, especially in the vocabulary reinforcement stage

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 18

c. Teaching grammar. In this respect songs are especially favored by teachers while investigating the use of the tenses. d. Teaching speaking. For this purpose, songs and mainly their lyrics are employed as a stimulus for class discussion e. Teaching listening comprehension f. Developing writing skills. For this purpose a song can be used in a variety of ways. According to Lynch (2008), there are three factors that contribute to listening comprehension of song, they are: a. Use of new vocabulary, idioms and expressions It needs to address the new material offered in each song. This includes grammar, vocabulary and usage. b. Pronunciation and accent of the singer Every native speaker doesnt pronounce or sing with the same accent. Students may be exposed to an accent which is outside the realm of what they might normally hear in context. c. Use of new grammar and structure Song researchers and singers are notoriously loose when it comes to use of gra mmar, structure, pronunciation, stress and other language factors applied to songs. The teacher must prepare for this. In additional, the use of songs in teaching and learning English as a foreign language is felt much needed. From the songs, we can learn many things such as vocabulary, grammar, listening, speaking, writing, and especially in listening. 2.2.3 The Criteria of Song Selection The important thing about choosing a song to do with a class is to make sure that the lyrics are clear. It can be very frustrating for the students not to

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 19

understand a word. The recording should also be a good one. A studio album is probably going to be better than a live version. Furthermore, M. Lynch (2008), provides three principal song selection criteria, they are: a. Use songs that are popular with the students whenever possible. Unfortunately, students frequently select songs for classroom use which are objectionable in some way making the song unusable. b. Songs must have clear and understandable lyrics. Nothing is worse than a song almost nobody can understand. If you have trouble understanding the lyrics by listening, then another song needs to be selected. c. Songs should have an appropriate theme. Theres enough bad news, negativity and violence in the world already. Songs with any type of negative theme should be avoided. There are plenty of positive, upbeat, even humorous songs available. In order hand, Orlova (2003) says that while encouraging students to choose the songs for discussion, it needs to ask them to following criteria below: a. The song must be an example of a particular musical trend b. There shouldnt be any form of violence in it. c. The song should contain a certain artistic image. It is realized when teaching the students; we should choose the songs that suitable level of difficulty. The suitable of the song is a particularly important issue. It should be known whether the students are going to like the song or not. 2.2.4 The use of Song Procedure There are various ways of using songs in the classroom. The level of the students, the interests and the age of the learners, the grammar point to be studied,

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 20

and the song itself have determinant roles on the procedure. Apart from them, it mainly depends on the creativity of the teacher. According to Saricoban and Metin (2000), at the primary level of singing the song, the prosodic features of the language is emphasized. At the higher levels, where the practice of grammar points is at the foreground, songs can be used with several techniques. Some examples of these techniques are: a. Gap fills or close texts b. Focus questions c. True-false statements d. Put these lines into the correct sequence e. Dictation f. Add a final verse g. Circle the antonyms/synonyms of the given words h. Discuss According to Yoo (2002), procedure of songs activity can be done by steps below: a. Pre-listening 1) As a warm-up or schema building activity, ask students what they know about American pop culture. You might also want to bring some pictures or CD's of popular actors or singers to class. 2) Pass out the cloze activity handout, and have students read the lyrics and figure out what the missing words might be, using their knowledge in grammar. Have the students compare their guesses with their neighbors. Ask for volunteers to share their guesses with the class.

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 21

b. While-listening Students listen for the missing words. Play the song once, and ask students whether they need to listen to the song again. If they do, play it one more time. c. Post-listening After the second listening, go over the answers with the class. If necessary, replay the parts where students had trouble understanding the words. Go over grammar points as necessary. However in teaching listening by songs, there are three stages; pre-listening, while-listening, and post-listening. Beside of that, the activity can be formed gap fills or close texts, true-false statements, and dictation. 2.2.5 Benefit of Song By using songs in the classroom, students can practice their listening skills and increase their cultural knowledge. Almost any song can be used in the ESL classroom. The pronunciation and rhythm lessons are the same as for the children's songs and the lessons may help students become more interested in different types of songs. Practicing lyric reading, studying the vocabulary, and listening to various songs can help students become more familiar with popular songs and make them more confident in their ability to listen and understand the world around them (Brown, 2006). The other benefits of using songs in the classroom are songs can be used: a. to present a topic, a language point, lexis, etc. b. to practice a language point, lexis, etc. c. to focus on common learner errors in a more direct way d. to encourage extensive and intensive listening

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 22

e. to stimulate discussion of attitudes and feelings f. to encourage creativity and use of imagination g. to provide a relaxed classroom atmosphere h. to bring variety and fun to learning From explanation above, its considered that songs have much benefit. Some of them are songs can motivate the students and make them more confidence in their ability to listen the materials. 2.3 Improving Improving is the act of enhancing or making better in terms of quality, value or usefulness. This can be by making ideas, objects or processes more desirable by adding or removing components. The term can be also be applied to people as well, via method such as performance reviews which are meant to try and improving an employee in some manner. (http://www.businessdictionary.com/ definition/improve.html) Based on the definition above, it can be axplained that enhance in every component is needed in the daily life it is also related to the issue of improving students in listening skills. 2.3.1 Ten Ways to Improve Listening Skills Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. --Leo Buscaglia Every time I give an assignment to my college students, I ask if they have questions. At first, everyone is hesitant, but in a moment or two, the questions begin. And thats fine. What I find somewhat disconcerting, though, is that most

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 23

of the questions reveal that the st udents havent really listened to my explanation, even though they appeared to have been attentive. I realize many of us need to hear something more than once to understand and process it, and Im not faulting my students for that. What bothers me is that in school and elsewhere, Ive noticed most people dont make much of an attempt to listen to others. In fact, I believe we are in the midst of a non-listening epidemic that is affecting the quality of our relationships, costing businesses thousands of dollars every year, and producing mediocre learning in our schools. Most of what we learn, we learn by listening. Yet research shows that most of us arent good listeners. In their book, Excellence in Business Communication, Thill and Bovee write, Listening i s a far more complex process than most people think. .. . most of us listen at or below a 25 percent efficiency rate, remember only about half of whats said during a 10-minute conversation, and forget half of that within 48 hours. It isnt surprising that we dont listen effectively. First of all, most of us havent been taught how to do so. We learn how to read and write but not how to listen. Secondly, we juggle so many activities on the job and at home that we dont give much thought to listening. Its speaking that takes priority. Yet mastering listening skills is critical if we are to become good communicators. Cheesebro, OConnor, and Rios write in Communication Skills, People are fired, customers are lost, and working relationships are strained because of ineffective listening. Likewise, friendships suffer, marriages fail, and families grow apart when individuals fail to listen with genuine concern.

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 24

The good news is you can improve your listening skills. By learning about the process and putting forth a conscious effort, you can become an effective listener. The following ten guidelines, adapted from Thill and Bovees book, will help you become a better listener: 1. Minimize both internal and external distractions. You cant always get rid of a headache, but you can close the windows if the driver of a truck is outside revving his engine. 2. Adjust your listening to the situation. If youre listening to a lecture for an exam in Biology class, youll want to pay closer attention than if youre watching the local news. In the former situation, youll probably take notes. 3. Show youre listening by your nonverbal communication. You might nod, shake your head, or raise your eyebrows. Adjust your posture accordingly. Make eye contact. 4. If youre listening to a speech or attending a business meeting, determine the most important points and develop a method to remember them. You might repeat them mentally or even jot them down briefly. 5. When youre listening to a friend with a problem, demonstrate empathy. Show her you understand what she is going through. 6. Realize that people dont necessarily want you to solve their problem. They may simply want to share how they are feeling. Save advice for another time, unless youre asked for it. 7. Dont interrupt. Let the person finish what he is saying before you explain your point of view or ask questions.

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 25

8. Dont prejudge a persons message by the way he looks. You can learn something from almost anyone. 9. Stay focused on the subject. Its easy to let your mind wander, especially if th e subject isnt important to you. Train yourself to concentrate. 10. Remain clearheaded, even if the topic is emotional. Perhaps someone is discussing the victories of the recent election, and you were passionate about a losing candidate. When emotions become involved, you may end up in the middle of a shouting match, which will resolve nothing. Present your points calmly. Youll gain credibility by doing so. To truly listen to someone--not just to hear the words the other is saying but to pay attention to the message contained in the words--is the greatest compliment we can give another person. It means that the other is important enough to us so that we are willing to give him or her our most valuable commodity: our time. It isnt always easy to listen, especi ally when we are preoccupied with fifteen different things that needed doing an hour ago or when we simply arent interested in what the other person is saying. But making the effort pays off. Listening can provide a bond of intimacy that deepens our connection to others. It can enrich our personal relationships and help us make fewer mistakes in our jobs. It can increase our learning potential. And it might even earn you a special compliment: I really like Jane. Shes such a good listener. Mary Ann Gauthier ( 2008 ) 2.3.2 Strategies to Improve Listening Skills Sheila C. Wilkinson says that being a good listener is about making sure that the other person knows that she is being heard. To do that requires listening

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 26

strategies as well as the ability to articulate what that person is saying to you with active responses or feedback. Since listening is a skill, it is something that must be learned and practiced. Within the context of your relationships, listening provides a safe place for someone to speak freely in an atmosphere of trust and concern. It is a bit of psychology, a bit of skill and a bit of love shaken together that makes another human being feel highly valued. There s no replacement for it within a relationship.

1. Listen with care. As you listen, focus on what is being said. Keep your eyes on the person while she is talking. Stay focused on what she is saying by formulating questions in your head, such as "What's the main point of this conversation?" Don't listen by thinking up what you're going to say next; just focus on the speaker. You'll have to devote real energy to staying highly tuned in, but it will show the speaker that you care deeply about what's being said. 2. Respond in relevant ways. When the person you're listening to stops speaking and is looking at you for a response, speak directly to what has just been said. Say something like "So you're saying you don't think that ___. Is that right?" or "It seems like you're feeling really ___. Is that true?" This will keep the attention focused on the other person and what he needs right now, which is the foundation of good listening. It's all about the other person. Be a mirror for the person who needs to talk, so that you can help him unravel what he is thinking and feeling. 3. Ask questions that require open-ended rather than closed answers. This means that you should ask questions that encourage further sharing rather than closing it off. Don't ask questions that can be answered with a simple yes or

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 27

no. Rather than ask "Do you want to quit your job?" ask something more like "What are the positives and negatives you should look at before deciding to leave this job?" This last question requires the person to continue speaking and exploring her own feelings, so it encourages openness. When someone realizes you want to hear her out, that person will usually relax more about the subject and speak with greater freedom. This builds trust and relationship and helps the person to see her thoughts and feelings in a more objective light. 4. Lean into the person. Use your body to convey that you are listening with a concerned heart. If you're sitting down, lean toward the person. Keep your arms and legs uncrossed. When crossed, you appear to be closing people out. You want your posture as well as your words to say "I'm present to you; I'm here for you." It's good to nod or shake your head when you want to convey agreement or surprise to him. Anything that shows you are actively in this conversation with him is a plus. 5. Don't talk until the person stops talking. Interrupting always makes the speaker feel as if you aren't listening and as if what she is saying is of no importance to you. You can't hear if you are talking, so keep quiet and listen. People don't always want or need advice, but they always need to know they're being heard. Usually their answers will be found within their own words, so they need time and space to speak freely to get to those answers that may be buried under a mountain of emotion or conflict. Let them speak and comment when they are finished, and you'll show them you care about what they're feeling and saying.

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 28

6. Be patient. Listening takes time and patience. You can't jump to conclusions or rush into give advice unless you are willing to seem uncaring. Just being actively there, letting the other person know that she matters and what she has to say is important will be healing and comforting. Listening is nearly a lost art in these days of rushing and electronic communication, but it is worth the time it takes to learn since it's the quickest and easiest pathway to great relationships.

2.4 Previous Studies There are some studies related with the use of songs in learning listening. First, a research done by Fismar (2003) entitled The Correlation between Delighting in Listening to English Songs and Students Achievement in Listening Comprehension of First Semester of English Study Program at Universitas Bengkulu Academic Year 2001-2002, where the result is the English songs are helpful in stimulating the development of students listening comprehension. Another study is a research done by Tee and Fah (2005) that use of songs in the teaching of life skills modules for ITE students. The result is bringing in music and playing songs in the classroom motivates the students to attend lessons and pay attention in class. From those previous studies, this research is different in two cases. First, the study does not make the correlation of using songs with listening achievement. Second, the study does not using songs only to motivate the students to attend lessons and pay attention in class. Furthermore, the study of this research is using songs to improve students listening skill.

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 29

CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY

3.1 Research Design This research was a classroom action research. It meant that an action research which is conducted in a classroom to increase the quality of learning teaching practices (Arikunto, S., Suhardjono & Supardi, 2008: 2). In other hands, it can be defined that it is an action that is done to solve the problem in the classroom. Therefore, this research purposed to solve the problems in teaching learning listening skill. In conducting this research, the researcher asked an English teacher of MA Al-Abror to help him. As mentioned in Arikunto, S., Suhardjono & Supardi (2008: 22), it is suggested for the beginner researcher to make collaboration in conducting an action research. The teacher helps the researcher in planning, action, observation, and reflection. Moreover, it is also possible for the researcher to ask much suggestion from her in conducting of the research. 3.2 Subject of the Reseach Subject of the research was the tenth grade students of MA Al-Abror Berruh in academic year 2012/2013 that was consisted of 27 students, 15 males and 12 females. Most of the students are from some villages. In their some junior high schools in villages, usually there is no language lab to train their listening skills. So, listening activities are not common for the students. When they come to MA Al-Abror, they cannot adjust their study habits very quickly. Because of that,

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 30

we need to find suitable method such as by using song to make them enjoy the learning process. 3.3 Setting of the Research According to Arikunto, S., Suhardjono & Supardi (2008:39), there is no population and sample in an action research, but it is known as setting of the research. It is a place where the research is conducted. Furthermore, the setting of the research was at Madrasah Aliyah (MA) Al-Abror Berruh. 3.4 Research Procedures According to Arikunto, S., Suhardjono & Supardi (2008: 20), there are four steps in action research: planning, actions, observation, and reflection. Clearly, can be seen below: 1. Pre-test, to know the score of students listening skill before treatments. 2. Treatments, the effort to improve students mo tivation in learning listening. There will be two cycles in this step: a. Cycle 1 1) Planning, making a plan what is needed and what will be done in action, and making a lesson plan. 2) Actions, applying of songs activity in teaching listening based on the lesson plan. 3) Observation, observing and writing the situation and condition during the action. 4) Reflection, analyzing to know the effect of action and fixing the planning for the next circle.

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 31

b. Cycle 2 1) Planning, identifying the problem from action 1 and deciding the problem solving. 2) Actions, doing the program of action 2. 3) Observation, collecting data in action 2. 4) Reflection, evaluation of action 2. 3. Post-test, to know the score of students listening skill after giving the treatments. 3.5 Research Instrument The instrument of this research was test; song sheets (lyric) that were given in pre-test, actions, and post-test. The instrument for pre-test and post-test was the same, which was taken from Futonge (2007). The test consisted of 30 items; 15 items of filling in the missing words and 15 items choosing the correct words in bold. The tests for two actions were adopted from Isabel Perez (www.isabelperaz.com), which consisted of 11 items of filling in the blanks for action 1, and 10 items of choosing the correct words in bold for action 2. 3.6 Instrument Validity According to Lather in Arikunto, S., Suhardjono & Supardi (2006: 128), there are four strategies to make the instrument is valid. The strategies are: 1. Face validity, the observers altogether check, make a score, and decide each other the validity of instrument in process of collaboration. 2. Triangulation, the instrument is taken by using some data sources to improve the quality of evaluation.

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 32

3. Critical reflection, the cycles are planned to improve the quality of understanding. 4. Catalytic validity, the instrument is gotten from the researchers knowledge himself as the effort to get improvement. In this research, the researcher used face validity and critical reflection from the researcher and an English teacher of MA Al-Abror Berruh. It means that the instrument was gotten by the researcher himself from some sources, and it was always discussed together in order to get the students improvement. 3.7 Technique of Data Collection The data was collected by test and observation. Observation was done to know the students attitude (qualitative data) during the research. Meanwhile, quantitative data was taken from the students score in pre -test, two actions, and post-test. The data in pre-test was taken to know the students listening skill before treatment. In actions, the data was collected twice; in action 1 and 2. The data was to know students development during treatment. Then, post -test was taken to know students ability in listening skill after giving the treatment. 3.8 Technique of Data Analysis After collecting, the data was analyzed by the researcher in steps below. 1. Knowing the students individual score, by the formula:

Where: S = score = the students score

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 33

= total of sums (Arikunto, 2002) 2. Knowing mean score each test, by the formula. Where: M = mean score = total of the students score N = number of the students (Arikunto, 2002) 3. Comparing the result of each test to know whether using songs can improve students listening skill or not. The score of objects were interpreted by consulting with the following interval of five scales the students score based on the scoring at MA Al-Abror Berruh: Table 1. The five scales interval of students score Scores Categories 85-100 75-84 60-74 40-59 0-39 Very good Good Moderate Low

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 34

Failure In this research, the students would be hoped to get the score upper to moderate category. It meant this research would be finished if the students got a good or very good score category. In additional, the target was 75 to 100 students mean score.

REFERENCES

Arikunto, Suharsimi (2002). Prosedur Penelitian: Suatu Pendekatan Praktek. Jakarta: Rineka Cipta.

Arikunto, S., Suhardjono & Supardi (2008). Penelitian Tindakan Kelas. Jakarta: Bumi Aksara.

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 35

Brown, Joy L. M. (April 2006). Rhymes, Stories and Songs in the ESL Classroom. The Internet TESL Journal. http://iteslj.org/Articles/BrownRhymes.html

Brown, Steven (2006). Teaching Listening. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Fizmar, Afzel (2003). The Correlation between Delighting in Listening to English Songs and Students Achievement in Listening Comprehension of First Seme ster Students of Universitas Bengkulu. Unpublished Thesis of Teacher Training and Education Faculty of Universitas Bengkulu

Futonge, Kisito (2005). Using English Videos and Music in EFL, ESL Classrooms. ESL Magazine: Read & Publish ESL articles. http://www.esl_galaxy.com/music.htm

_________ (2007). ESL Teacher & Student Resources. http://www.esl_galaxy.com.

Gay, L. R. (1990). Education and Research: Competences and for Analysis and Application. New York: McMillan.

Hasyuni (2006). The Students Preferred Activities for English Listening Classes (A Survey Conducted to the Second and Fourth Semester Students of English

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 36

Department of FKIP Universitas Bengkulu Academic Year 2005/2006). Unpublished Thesis of Teacher Training and Education Faculty of Universitas Bengkulu

Hornby, A. S. (1990). Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary of Current English. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Http://www.isabelperez.com. Retrieved March 25, 2009.

Lynch, Larry M. (2008). Using Popular Songs to Improve Language Listening Comprehension Skills. http://esl4free.blogspot.com/2008/02/can-music-improveyour-students.htm....

Mee, Mac Yin (July 1990). Teaching Listening: An Overview. The English Teacher Vol XIX.

Orlova, Natalia F. (March 2003). Helping Prospective EFL Teachers Learn How to Use Songs in Teaching Conversation Classes. The Internet TESL Journal. http://iteslj.org/Technoques/Orlova-Songs.html

Oxford, R. L. (1993). Research Update on Teaching L2 Listening. System, 21 (2)

PolyU ELC. Listening Material. Http://elc.polyu.edu.hk/ELCmaterial/Listening/ k/Listening.htm. March 25,2009.

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 37

Rixon, S. (1986). Developing Listening Skills. Basingstoke: Macmillan.

Ross, Justine. (February 2006). ESL Listening Comprehension: Practical Guidelines for Teachers. The Internet TESL Journal. http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Ross-ListeningComprehension.html

Saricoban, Arif. (December 1999). The Teaching of Listening. The Internet TESL Journal. http://iteslj.org/Articles/Saricoban-Listening.html

Saricoban, A. & Metin, E. (October 2000). Songs, Verse and Games for Teaching Grammar. The Internet TESL Journal. http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Saricoban-Songs.html

Teaching Listening. http://teachinglisteningcomprehension.html. Retrieved March 25,2009.

Tee, Tan Siew & Fah, Shi Soi (2005). Use of Songs in the Teaching of Lifeskills Modules. Paper presented at ITE Teaching Conference. http://edt.ite.edu.sgite_conf/teaching/tc0/5ts04.

Ur, Penny (1996). A Course in Language Teaching: Practice and Theory. Cambridge: University Press.

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 38

Yoo, Isaiah WonHo. (July 2002). Focused Listening with Songs. The Internet TESL Journal. http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Yoo-Songs.html click link 80 clicks

SKRIPSI BAHASA INGGRIS UIM 2013 PAMEKASAN | Writer By KISWATI NINGSIH 39