USING THE INFORMATION GAP TECHNIQUE TO PROMOTE THE MOTIVATION OF THE EIGHTH GRADERS OF SMPN 3 PASURUAN TO SPEAK ENGLISH

ABSTRAK Prasetianto, Mushoffan. 2011. Using the Information Gap Technique to Promote the Motivation of the Eighth Graders of SMPN 3 Pasuruan to Speak English. Thesis, Department of English, Faculty of Letters, State University of Malang. Advisor: Dra. Sri Andreani, M.Ed. Key Words: speaking, information gap, motivation Speaking is important for communication. The school-based curriculum demands that the students should be able to communicate orally in English. However, the results of preliminary study in the eighth grade of SMPN 3 Pasuruan show that the junior high school students face some problems in speaking. Most of the students had low motivation to speak because they were afraid of making grammatical mistakes. To overcome the problems, the researcher implemented the information gap technique. The technique was chosen because it is concerned with language meaning not language forms. In the previous studies, it also proved to be effective in motivating students to speak. This study adopted the Classroom Action Research (CAR) design proposed by Kemmis and Mc Taggart (1988). The research was conducted in two cycles, each comprising four stages, i.e. planning an action, implementing the action, observing the action, and reflecting on the observation. The subjects were the students of class VIII A of SMPN 3 Pasuruan which consisted of 36 students. There were two kinds of data gained: the students' motivation and the students' frequency of speaking. The data were taken from the students and the English teacher by means of questionnaires, observation checklists, interview guides and field notes. The data were analyzed through qualitative methods, interpreted on the bases of the criteria of success and presented descriptively. The results of the study show that the information gap technique met the criteria of success. The students' level of motivation increased from low to fair. And 58% of students show an increase in the frequency of speaking from passive to active and 8.4% of students show an increase in the frequency of speaking from passive to very active. In this study, the researcher used real life materials, gave examples to clarify the instructions, informed the students of the learning objectives, and used group work instead of pair work. Based on the results of this study, it is concluded that the implementation of the information gap technique in the teaching of speaking in class VIII-A can help the students improve their motivation to speak. It is suggested that English teachers apply the information gap technique to increase students' motivation to speak. In addition, further researchers are suggested to use the information gap technique in different grades and level of education to see whether the technique can be implemented effectively.