Developing children's speaking ability through puppetry drill

Normally every human being can speak--communicate with others—though they are not able to read or write. It seems that the oral communication is more needed and considered more valuable than the written one. Since language is primarily spoken, drilling is very important for children (students) because drill is as the basic of oral practice. Therefore, to develop children’s speaking English ability, the teachers can use some drills techniques, such as a dialogue drill, picture drill, etc. However, drills can be boring if used for too long, and they are based on the same elements of practice (repetition), which is the justification for drills. As a result, children are discouraged to practice the spoken language. In other words, they have no motivation to practice their speaking skills and feel bored facing a monotonous situation. Of course, here, the variation of drill techniques is needed to avoid drill to be boring. As a matter of fact, the teacher should be creative to drill her students in speaking subject. In this study the writer chooses a technique through puppetry drill. Using puppetry drill in teaching speaking English here, the teacher uses puppets as an audio visual aid to drill children. There is never a shortage of material in using the puppetry drill. The various kinds of material can avoid puppetry drill to be boring. Through puppetry drill, the teachers not only help to avoid drill that is boring, but also to develop the students’ ability in speaking. This technique helps the teachers in their efforts to make their teaching more alive as puppetry drill gives variation and provides enjoyable atmosphere, which can break the tension in the classroom. Furthermore, the puppetry drill arises the children motivation as well as attracts them to participate in the classroom activities. Finally, the writer hopes that this thesis may contribute some ideas to the English courses or elementary schools, especially in her efforts of developing the students’ speaking ability. The writer realizes that there are still many shortcomings in this thesis. Therefore, she will happily accept any constructive criticism from the readers