Using Chain Stories To Improve The Ability Of The First Year Students Of Ma Dar-El Hikmah Pekanbaru In Writing Recount Texts

Abstract

USING CHAIN STORIES TO IMPROVE THE ABILITY OF THE FIRST YEAR STUDENTS OF MA DAR-EL HIKMAH PEKANBARU IN WRITING RECOUNT TEXTS Affan Permana Putra Student of English Language Department Faculty of Teachers’ Training and Education Riau University Abstract This classroom action research was aimed to use chain stories to improve the ability of the first year students of MA Dar-el Hikmah Pekanbaru in writing recount texts. This study consisted of two cycles of classroom treatment, in which one cycle consisted of four stages, namely Plannning, Action, Observation, and Reflection. The Pre-test and Post-tests was used for measurement, and also a set of observation sheets and field notes were used to gain the record of the classroom activity during the Chain Stories treatment. The subjects were 30 students from class X.A1 MA Dar-el Hikmah Pekanbaru. Before the treatment was conducted, the sample was given Pre-test and after the treatment, Post-test 1and Post-test 2 were also held. The procedures carried out consist of constructed the students’ mind and knowledge by asking the students’ experience that related to recount text, teacher gives opportunity to the students to find out knowledge, skill or information before the teacher explanation, teacher gives some questions to encourage students’ thinking ability, teacher divides the students into groups of four, teacher gives a sample of a recount text, teacher explains and models to the students the process of chain stories, teacher writes the first sentence “when I was in the first year of elementary school, I had an unforgettable experience” on the board, students led by the teacher write the next sentence in their own paper. Each student will be given one minute to give the contribution (more time needed as the stories grow longer), students pass their paper to their right (This pattern continues until the stories are completed), and students correct the stories in pairs led by the teacher by providing an edit checklist on the board to aid students in focusing on particular errors. After two cycles of the Chain Stories treatment, it was found that the students score in writing recount texts differ significantly from Pre-test to Post-test (the Pre-test score is 41.56, Post-test 1 is 62.04, Post-test 2 is 75). However, the statistically significant differences of the score results of the two cycles were found on the Post-test 2, where about 96.7% of the students reached the school minimum standard of English subject in writing recount text. Moreover, the student’s activeness during the Chain Stories treatment also improved from one meeting to others. Regarding the effectiveness of the Chain Stories on the students’ attitudes, the observation sheets and field notes results showed that the students had positive attitudes towards the Chain Stories method.