IMPROVING STUDENTS’ SPEAKING ABILITY THROUGH PAIR WORK TECHNIQUE, (A CLASSROOM ACTION RESEARCH, FOR THE 7THGRADE STUDENTS OF SMP KRISTEN GERGAJI SEMARANG IN THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2011/2012)

This research was an attempt to find an evidence of the influence of Pair Work Technique on speaking competence. It was done at SMP Kristen Gergaji with the total of 34 students.This study was carried out as an Action Research (AR) for it was done in the classroom.It was conducted in 3 cycles. To determine whether the Pair Work technique for the teaching of speaking was effective, a test was given in every cycle, in cycle 1, 2 and 3. In cycle 1, it was found that: 1) the percentage of the students’ speaking competence was 44 %. (The students who got the passing grade were only 15 out of 34 students). 2) the percentage of students’ activity was 61 %.In cycle 2, it was found that: 1) the percentage of the students’ speaking competence was 76 %. (The students who got the passing grade were 26 out of 34 students). 2) the percentage of students’ activity was 71 %. In cycle 3, it was found that: 1) the percentage of the students’ speaking competence was 91 %. (The students who got the passing grade were 31 out of 34 students). 2) the percentage of students’ activity was 82 %. So, it can be concluded that Pair Work Technique can improve the students’ speaking competence for the 7th grade students of SMP Kristen Gergaji Semarang in the academic year 2011/2012