THE IMPLEMENTATION OF DIRECT METHOD IN TEACHING SPEAKING SKILL FOR 8TH GRADE STUDENTS AT SMP NEGERI 2 JATILAWANG

The success of the foreign language learning process consists of several factors, one of which is the teaching method. One of the foreign language teaching methods is the direct method. The English teacher at SMP Negeri 2 Jatilawang has implemented a direct method of teaching speaking for grade 8th since the beginning of the implementation of the 2013 Curriculum (K13). This is in line with the characteristics of the 2013 Curriculum (K13) Number 68, 2013 which stated that learning must develop skills and apply them in various situations in schools and communities. Then, this is motivated because students experience several obstacles in learning to speak, some of the obstacles are difficulties in pronunciation and vocabulary mastery. Therefore, English teachers believed that the implementation of direct methods in teaching speaking in grade 8th can make students accustomed to speaking English, develop students' speaking skills, and overcome student obstacles in learning to speak. The purposes of this research are to describe the implementation of the direct method in teaching speaking, as well as to explore the strengths and weaknesses of the direct method in teaching speaking to 8th grade students at SMP Negeri 2 Jatilawang. This research used a qualitative research method with a descriptive technique and using random sampling, data collection techniques used were observation, interview, and documentation. The objects of this research are the implementation of the direct method in teaching speaking, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the direct method in teaching speaking. The subjects of this research were two English teachers and 20 grade 8th students of SMP Negeri 2 Jatilawang. The results of this research indicate several findings in the implementation of the direct method in teaching speaking, namely the principles, characteristics, techniques, strengths, and weaknesses. The five principles of the implementation of direct method in teaching speaking are direct method must be implemented on the right material, the teacher must master the speaking material, the explanation of the material is delivered by the teacher orally and directly uses English, the learning atmosphere must be actively built, and grammar is taught inductively. Then, the six characteristics of the direct method in teaching speaking, namely the direct method are implemented directly using English when learning to speak, teachers need learning media, the teacher's facial expressions, and gestures can help students understand what the teacher saying, very little or no translation process, students are asked more to perceive and practice, the teacher provides many opportunities for students to practice. Furthermore, six direct method techniques used by English teachers in teaching speaking are a match and group image, practice question and answer, making students self-correct, conversation practice, read aloud, and dictation. In addition, the next findings are the strengths and weaknesses of the direct method of teaching speaking. The strengths of the direct method in teaching speaking there are direct method can increase students' self-confidence, the direct method is suitable for learning aspects of speaking, can create an active learning atmosphere, and provides many opportunities for students to practice. The last finding is the weaknesses of direct methods in teaching speaking. The weaknesses of the direct method in teaching speaking are not suitable to be implemented on students who do not have good background knowledge and skills, relatively need a long time, the teacher must require a lot of energy, and the direct method became less effective if the teacher does not use learning media