Improving the Listening Skill of Grade VIII A Students of SMP 1 Buaran Pekalongan through Storytelling Using Wayang Media in the Academic Year 2013/2014

This research aimed at improving the listening skill of Grade VIII A students of SMP 1 Buaran Pekalongan through storytelling using wayang media. This research was done because the listening skill of grade VIII A students of SMP 1 Buaran was low. The research design employed in this study was classroom action research which consisted of four main steps: planning, implementing, observing, and reflecting. The subjects of the research were the students of grade VIII A. Test items, observation checklist, and a set of questionnaires were used as instruments. The data of this research were collected by means of observation sheet filled up by a collaborator, students’ test result, and the students’ questionnaires result. The collected data were then analyzed and presented descriptively. The results of this research in Cycle One showed that the students’ average score in the listening test after the process increased 6.9, from 62.8 in the Test 1 to 69.7 in Test 2 after Cycle One. The implementation of the strategy in Cycle Two showed that the students’ average score increased 5.0, from 69.7 in Test 2 after Cycle One to 74.7 in Test 3 after Cycle Two. The total improvement of students’ average score from Test 1 to Test 3 after the implementation of Cycle One and Cycle Two was 11.9, from 62.8 in Test 1 to 74.7 in Test 3. The result of the observation checklist and the students’ response to questionnaires showed that their motivation in learning listening on the narrative texts was high enough. The students in every meeting showed good improvement on their learning behaviors. Although not all of the students showed similar changes, they, at least, started to show their interest to learn to listen to English texts. It could be inferred that storytelling using wayang media can improve students’ listening skill on narrative texts. The four-stage strategy in classroom action research helped the students to do the steps of learning listening collaboratively and independently. Wayang media could help to visualize the characters in the narrative texts. It makes easier for the students to comprehend the narrative texts