IMPROVING THE SEVENTH GRADE STUDENTS’ ENGLISH SPEAKING ABILITY OF SMP HARAPAN I MEDAN BY USING THE PUPPET SHOW MEDIA

ABSTRACT - The purpose of this study was to improve students' speaking skill before and after the use of puppet show media in the form of paper puppets in the implementation of English learning. This research is also expected to provide benefits to remind students about local cultural wisdom, especially puppetry. This research was conducted on VII grade students of SMP Harapan I Medan. The results showed that from the results of the action as much as 2 (two) cycles in grade VII students of SMP Harapan 1 Medan, it was concluded that the use of puppet show media can improve students' English speaking skills. Student learning outcomes in each cycle of learning have increased. This can be seen from the percentage of students who have reached the KKM increasing every cycle. The percentage of completeness of student learning outcomes in cycle I was 63% and in cycle II increased to 80%. Thus, this study was declared successful and it can be said that the use of puppet show media can improve students' English speaking skill. With a combination of local culture and English, of course there are two things that can be achieved at once, namely improving students' English speaking skill and maintaining local wisdom so that it does not become extinct because the younger generation is also introduced and taught about the local culture, namely in the form of wayang.Keywords: Speaking Skills, English, Puppet sho