Comparing Journal Articles : Introduction and Theory

     Comparing something can be offer lots of fun and obviously improves your skills in many aspects, such as comprehension, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. These skills are needed and useful nowadays. Today, I (Ahmad Zaelani) and my friends (Fina Damayanthi and Siti Rohmah) would be explaining, comparing and concluding about the introduction and theory of journal articles that had been learned before. The title of journal articles are as follows:

1. Ahmad Zaelani (Improving Students' Speaking Skill by using Show And Tell Method: A Classroom Action Research)

2. Fina Damayanthi (Psychological Factor Affecting English Speaking Performance for the English Learners in Indonesia)

3. Siti Rohmah (Utilizing Video Simulations to Improve Educational Leaders’ Public Speaking Skills)

Psychological Factor Affecting English Speaking Performance for the English Learners in Indonesia

INTRODUCTION

In this globalization era, knowledge about foreign languages is given to students well, this opens the door to job opportunities throughout the world. At present, the language that dominates all over the world is English. Referring to the evolution of the human mind, it is clear that English is the most widespread language in the world, used by more people for various purposes than any other language on Earth. English is now an international language, spoken in many countries both as a native language and a second or foreign language.

Furthermore, English has become part of the daily activities of school students in Indonesia; most of them feel happy and proud when they can speak English well. Unfortunately, most of these students always show a lack of confidence and anxiety when speaking English for the purpose of verbal communication. The level of anxiety is extraordinary because of factors such as being called forward by the teacher to respond to questions verbally or having to present something oral in front of the class. Therefore, the problem mentioned above really requires investigation.

Speaking is one of the productive skills that allow us to convey or express something in spoken language. Language is the ability to interact verbally with others or share with them about one's views and feelings in different situations that occur in real-time. According to Akhyak and Indramawan [18], improving English language competence is very important for Indonesian students who know that speaking is very necessary to make a major contribution to students to do their communication skills better.

THEORY

Descriptive qualitative research methods were used for this research. According to Creswell [16], "Qualitative research is best suited to overcome this research problem, where you cannot compare variables and need to be discussed. Literature can produce less information about the phenomenon of study, and you need to learn more about findings through tracing." For Creswell, in a qualitative discussion, discussing not to generalize participation, but to develop an inquiry into a central phenomenon. Referring to the explanation above presented by Creswell, this study intentionally selected 20 students in the field of Applied Linguistics at the Graduate School of Yogyakarta State University to conduct research as research participants. To collect data from the 20 students mentioned above, some class observations were made first, students were observed during their presentations in front of the class and when they interacted with each other trying to use English which they rarely do every day. Mostly, these students speak in Indonesian or Javanese. They also replaced the code they mixed with Indonesian (Indonesian) or with Javanese (Javanese). This class observation gives researchers the opportunity to gather open information.

In addition to data obtained from observations, researchers also invited 10 out of 20 students to conduct interviews. Participants were asked about their difficulties in speaking English, about why they always change codes, why they make PowerPoint in English but present it in Indonesian, and why they feel insecure or worried when using English to communicate. Referring to the answers to the various questions mentioned above, a large amount of data related to psychological factors that influence students' English-speaking practices are obtained.

Utilizing Video Simulations to Improve Educational Leaders’ Public Speaking Skills

INTRODUCTION

School and district administrators may unexpectedly find themselves in front of a television news camera with only a few moments notice prior to a live or videotaped interview session. A breaking news story could be anything from a crisis situation to a human interest segment celebrating a school event, and educational leaders need to be prepared to effectively represent their school and district communities through this medium. In addition to these situations, many school districts now produce their own cable television programs, broadcasting talk shows hosted by superintendents, town hall meetings, or formal speeches made by administrators. This article will explore ways in which educational leadership programs may utilize video simulations and video portfolios to prepare future school and district leaders for both live and televised public speaking event.

THEORY

Through harnessing advanced technologies, instructors can design and implement learning experiences aligned with performance standards for leaders that measure candidates’ skills and applications of knowledge (Militello, Gajda, & Bowers, 2009) According to Edmonson (2002), “Many administrative interns receive no real administrative practice at all through their internship, and yet upon completion of the internship, they are expected to be competent administrators” (p. 1). This logistical reality creates a situation where the classroom the instructional environment may be the only forum for candidates to encounter certain elements of educational leadership Tomlinson (2005) reinforced the need for differentiated instruction by stating that in schools today, “There are increased categories of special education identification, a rapidly growing second language population, more students carrying the weight of fragmented home lives, and advanced learners languishing in under-challenging classrooms” (p. 28).

Improving Students' Speaking Skill by using Show And Tell Method: A Classroom Action Research

INTRODUCTION

Speaking becomes one of the fourth skills to be mastered by Junior  High  School  students  besides  Listening,  Reading  and  Writing. There is an interactive  process  of  constructing meaning that involves  producing and receiving and processing information (Brown, 1994). By speaking, the students are expected to be able to communicate and express  the  meaning  of  language  in  a  transaction  and interpersonal spoken text to interact with surroundings.

            In  teaching  and  learning  process,  speaking  seems difficult to students. Based on the researcher’s experience  as  an  English  teacher, there  were  some  problems during speaking class.

1. Lack of Vocabulary

2. Lack of Participation

Based  on  the  problems  above,  the  needs  for  an  attractive   method   of   learning to   stimulate   students   to speak and improve students’ ability in speaking is urgent. The  teacher  should  be  creative  in  finding  the  appropriate  method  that  can  encourage  students to speak. One of the methods is Show and Tell Methods.

Improving Students’ Speaking Skill By Using Show And Tell Method: A Classroom Action Research

THEORY

            Natural  speaking  can  be  practiced  by repetition and memorizing. It always happens in the classroom. It is supported  by  Clarke  (2009),  who  stated  that  the  use  of repetition  is an important strategy to assist in the learning  of  the  second language.  Saying  the  same  thing  more than once will give more than one chances to understand what  is  being said.  Repetition,  consequently,  will  also affect students’ confidence, activeness and enthusiasm

            Show and Tell method is  basically  defined  as  a method in teaching and learning process by sharing time activity  for students.  According  to  Barletta  (2008),  as  cited  in  Mortlock  (2014) Show  and Tell method  denotes  a practice where children are given an opportunity to share an  oral  narrative  about  an  object or experience.  The object or experience is usually from their home life and told orally with their peers and with the teacher’s support.

            The  benefits  of Show  and  Tell method  is  best stated  by  Moffet  and  Wagner  (1976  as  cited  in  Bohning, 1981)  stated  that  some  benefits  of  doing Show  and  Tell method are to improve communication skill and practice it  in  front of the audience.  It  also  becomes  happy  time  with other  mates  to  share  with  about  something  special,  talking  about  their  feeling,  excited  or  proud  about  it.  This method has also given opportunity for students to develop their  language  skill  and  with  careful  coaching,  it  can  assist children in enhancing their communication skills and confidence  in  sharing  narratives  or  speaking  to  groups (Poveda,  2001  as  cited  in  Mortlock  2014).

 Conclusion

     All of the journal articles that have been reviewed above is talking about the students' lack of speaking skill which basically came from lack of vocabulary, lack of participation and not confident. we found that psychological factors can influence students' English-speaking practices and skills. The use of modern technology can also improve students' speaking skills such as video simulations that will guide students to be able to speak. Moreover,  by using the Show and Tell method (Repetition) or doing the same things over and over again, can improve students' speaking skills as they memorize its vocabulary and pronunciation.

Author: Ahmad Zaelani