THE ABILITY OF THE AUTISM CHILDREN IN

MASTERING ENGLISH VOCABULARY AT SLB

RAJAWALI

BY

SAMANIA AYU SARI INTANG

06120110081

A Skripsi
Submitted to the Faculty of Letters
As a Requirement to Obtain Sarjana Degree
In English Department

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LETTERS
MOSLEM UNIVERSITY OF INDONESIA
MAKASSAR
2015
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Alhamdulillahi rabbil alamin. Wassalatu wassalmu Ala Muhammad

Waala Alihi Waasahbihi Ajmain. Praise only to the God almighty, Allah
subhanahu wa ta’ala for blessing, love, opportunity, health, and mercy till
the writer was able to finish this thesis.

Shalawat is also send to prophet Muhammad shallallahu ‘alaihi wa

sallam who had delivered the truth to human beings in general and Muslim
in particular.

Then I would like to express the highest gratitude to:

1. My Beloved Family especially my parents, M.Sares Mone and

Musdalifah who have supported me in material, education,
motivation and always pray for me so that I am always healthy and
can accomplish my thesis. there is no best word to explain the
writer thanks to them. My belove brother, aunt, uncle and cousin
may Allah SWT does ever safeguard.
2. To my supervisor, Dra. Hariratul Jannah, M.Hum and
Dra.Rusdiah,M.Hum who has guided me with his worthy,
correction and suggestion to improve the quality of this skripsi.
3. The Dean of faculty of letters, Dra.Hj.Muli Umiaty Noer, M.Hum for
her contribution and attention.
4. The Head of English Departmen, Dra.A. Hudriati, M.Hum, who has
given the writer some suggestion and guidance during the writer
studies in Faculty of Letters, English Department of Muslim
University of Indenesia Makassar.
5. All lecturers of Faculty of Letters, who have transferred much
knowledge to me. For guidance, instruction and help during study
at Muslim University of Indenesia Makassar.
6. All Staff Office of Faculty of letters, for the guidance.
 7. My Gratitude to Headmaster of Sekolah Luar Biasa (SLB) Rajawali,
Makassar who has give me permission, helps for present study.
Ms.Adolvina as an English teacher, who has allowed me to
conduct a research in his class. And all Student Autism students of
SLB Rajawali, Makassar, who helped me to make the research.
8. Special thanks to my beloved best friend “B Class 2011” , Irna, Lia,
Chici, Nunu, Dila, Dian, Uphe, Emha, Lady, Putih, Risty, Herna,
Tini, Anti and etc, who always given me advice and entertain me
when I as down. they all have given me a cheerful and joyful world
and beautiful togetherness.
9. Big Thanks to My belove best Friend in other university Neno, Anti,
kak Sri, kak Amel, kak Fia, kak Luqman, and etc for all motivation,
inspiration, and spirit that will never forget and replaceable.
10. Thanks to all staff in My Office “Yayasan Cinta sedekah nusantara
and Rumah Tahfidzta’ Al Qur’an CSN”, Who always understand my
study in Campus and give me motivation to finish my study.
Finally, I realize that this thesis may be far from perfection. Therefore, all
sugestion and criticism will highly appreciated. May this thesis be
beneficial.

Makassar, 26 Maret 2015

The writer
 ABSTRACT

Samania Ayu Sari Intang. 2015. The Ability of the Autism children in
Mastering Vocabulary. Supervised by Hurairatul Jannah and Rusdiah.
The objectives of this research were to find out the ability of the
autism children in mastering vocabulary and to know the influence of
English language to autism children in speaking.
This research used descriptive qualitative method which was try to
find, analyze and draw conclusion of the data which had been found. In
collecting data, this research used observation, interview and
documentation.
The result of this research indicated that the ability of the autism
children in mastering English was good. It was shown by their ability in
answering questions related to name of color, things in the classroom,
adjectives, name of fruits, animals and basic expressions. The result of
this research also found that the English has a great influence on the
ability of autism children in speaking. It was found that English was used
by autism children to communicate their ideas that cannot be conveyed by
using Indonesian language.
 TABLE OF CONTENT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT........................................................................ i

ABSTRACT........................................................................................... iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS........................................................................ v

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

A. Background................................................................................. 1

B. Problem Statement..................................................................... 3

C. Objective of Study....................................................................... 3

D. Significance of Study.................................................................. 4

E. Scope of Study............................................................................ 4

CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

2.1 Language................................................................................... I5

2.1.1 Definition of Language.......................................................... 6

2.1.2 Function of language............................................................ 6

2.2 Description of Vocabulary.......................................................... 8

2.2.1 Definition of Vocabulary....................................................... 8

2.2.2 Kinds of Vocabulary.............................................................. 10

2.3 The Brief of Autism..................................................................... 11

2.3.1 The Characteristics of Indication Autistic Children............... 12

2.3.2 Causes of Autism................................................................. 14

2.3.3 Autism and Language........................................................... 17

CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHOD

3.1 Research Method....................................................................... 21

3.2 Population and Sample.............................................................. 21

3.2.1 Population ............................................................................ 21

3.2.2 Sample.................................................................................. 21

3.3 Techniques of Data Collection................................................... 21

3.3.1 Observation.......................................................................... 21

3.3.2 Interview............................................................................... 22

3.3.3 Documentation..................................................................... 22

3.4 Data Analysis............................................................................. 22

CHAPTER IV FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Findings

4.1.1 The ability of autism children in mastering English

vocabulary..........................................................................

24

4.1.2 The influence of English language to autism children in

speaking ............................................................................

31

4.2 Discussion ................................................................................. 34

CHAPTER V CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

5.1. Conclusion ................................................................................ 36

5.2. Suggestion ............................................................................... 36

BIBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDIXES
 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

Language is very important as a communication tool. By using

language, communicator and communicant can understand each other.

Language in the world is very complex. So it can be able to communicate

among nations which agreed upon seven international languages. At the

UN forum is agreed upon seven international languages, are Mandarin,

English, Spanish, French, German, Russian, and Arabic.

English as an International language is used all over the world.

People in some countries speak English as their first language and some

other use it as their foreign language.

Indonesia is one of the countries where English as a foreign

language. Nowadays, English language is very important in our life. It is

used in formal or non formal language. Which ever position the people

work they feel need to learn English as a foreign language. English is the

primary language that must be mastered by everyone.Including Normal

children and Children with Special Need to survive in this global era.

Hutchison, (2004: 195) says that Mastering English is not pleasure

or prestige of knowing the language, but it is the key to the international

communication and also for technology in era of globalization.

There are several aspects of language, it aspects productive

(speaking and writing) and receptive aspects (listening and reading). In

1
learning English there are basic components must be known namely

Grammar and Vocabulary. One of the important language components is

vocabulary. Vocabulary is the basic unit of language form. By knowing the

vocabulary of a new language, it can help the learners to understand the

language easily.

Vocabulary is collective word owned by one language and gives

the meaning if we use the language. With a limited vocabulary anyone

will also has a limited understanding in terms of speaking, reading,

listening, and writing. It is true that it might be impossible to learn a

language without vocabulary. Vocabulary is one of the problems

confronted by English language learners. Because of the limited

vocabulary, the learners cannot communicate to others clearly.

Sometimes it is difficult to group the idea transmitted to them.

Because English is the primary language that must be mastered by

everyone, Autism children need to learn English as a foreign language

too. It is same as normal children who also need to learn language to

communicate with their environment. Eventhough Autism different with

Normal child. Children with autism have a problem in communication.

Autism is a complex developmental disorder distinguished by difficulties

with social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication, and

behavioral problems, including repetitive behaviors and narrow focus of

interest.
 Charles A. Hart in Afrianti (2006) defines autism as a condition that

describes a number of neurological problems that affect thinking,

perception and attention. Influence on the subsequent inability of the

existing block and interrupt signals from the eyes to interact with others or

run social activities and even the ability to communicate, including limiting

the range of skills such as imagination and argumentation.

Base on the description, seeing the condition of people with

autism. The main focus Autism children in mastering English vocabulary

because the students should know that each object has its own name in

English.

1.2 Problem statement

Based on the background above, the writer formulated two problems, as

follows :

1. How was the ability of Autism children in mastering English

vocabularies?

2. How was the influence of English language to Autism children in

speaking?

1.3 Objective of study

The objectives of the study were :

1. To know the ability of Autism Children in mastering English

vocabularies.

2. To know the influence of English language to Autism children in

speaking.
1.4 Significance of study

Theoretically, the writer hopes that the study will be a source of

information that can enrich the knowledge. Moreover, this study hopefully

become reference especially in understanding about mastering English of

autism children. Besides, the writer, it will give more information to reader

and all parents of autism about the ability of autism children in mastering

English Language especially vocabulary aspect.

1.5 The scope of study

The study focuses on the ability of Autism children in mastering

English Language especially in their Vocabulary. The writer will do

research in Sekolah Luar Biasa Rajawali Makassar.

 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

2.1 Language

2.1.1 Definition of Language

Language has been defined by many linguists. W.N.Francis

(1958:13) defines language as an arbitrary system of articulated

sounds made use of by a group of humans as means of carrying on the

affairs of their society. A. A. Hill (1958:9) describes language as the

primary and most highly elaborated form of human symbolic activity. Its

symbols are made up of sounds produced by the vocal apparatus, and

they are arranged in classes and patterns which make up a complex

and symmetrical structure. The entities of language are symbols, that

is, they have meaning, but the connection between symbol and thing is

arbitrary and social controlled. The symbols of language are

simultaneously substitutes stimuli and substitute responses, so that

discourse becomes independent of an immediate physical stimulus.

The entities and structure of language are always so elaborated as to

give the speaker the possibility of linguistic response to an experience.

The scientific study of language is called linguistics (Wardhaugh,

1972: 213). Besides, Lado (1964: 18) states that linguistics is the

science that describes and classifies languages.

5
2.1.2 Function of Language

Language functions refer to the purposes in which we use

language to communicate. We use language for a variety of formal and

informal purposes, and specific grammatical structures and vocabulary

are often used with each language function. The main function of

language is as a means of communicate on. Within this communicative

function, we can differentiate five function of language (Leech,1974:67-

68). They are:

(1) Informational Function: Conveying information.

Language can have an informational in which language is

used to convey to other person. Conceptual meaning is

predominant in the information use of language.

(2) Expressive function: expressing the Speaker’s or writer’s feelings

or attitudes.

Apart from the neutral informational function, language can

have an expressive function, that is, it can be used to express its

originator’s feelings and attitudes – swear words and exclamations

are most obvious instances of this. For the expressive function,

affective meaning (what language communicates of the author’s

attitudes) is clearly all-important.

(3) Directive function: directing or influencing the behavior or

attitudes.
 A third function of language is the directive function whereby

we aim to influence the behavior or attitudes of others. The most

straightforward instances of the directive function are commands

and requests. This function of social control place emphasis on the

receiver’s end, rather than the originator’s end of massage; but it

resembles the expressive function in giving less importance, on the

whole, to conceptual meaning than to other types of meaning,

effective and connotative meaning.

(4) Aesthetic function: creating an aesthetic effect

The aesthetic function can be defined as the use of

language for the sake of the linguistic artifact itself, and for no

ulterior purpose. This aesthetic function can have at least as much

to do with conceptual as with affective meaning. But the main

semantic point about poetry is that it is language communicating at

full stretch: all possible avenues of communication, all levels and

types of meaning, are open to use. Both the poet and the reader

bring a heightened sensitivity to meaning to bear on the act of

communication.

(5) Phatic function: maintaining social bonds.

The phatic function is the function of keeping

communication lines open, and keeping social relationships in

good repair (in British culture, talking about the weather is a well-

known examples of this). The phatic function is at the further

 remove from the aesthetic function, in that here the communicative

work done by language is at its highest: it is not so much what one

says, but the fact that one says it at all, that matters. In any case,

allowance has been made for the combined fulfillment of a number

of different functions. Rarely is a piece of language purely

informative, purely expressive, etc. this classification of five

function can be neatly correlated with five essential features in any

communicative situation, namely (1) subject matter, (2) originator

(i.e. the speaker or write), (3) receiver (i.e. listener or reader), (4)

the channel of communication between them, and (5) the linguistic

message itself. Each of the five functions can be identified with a

special orientation of language to each of these factors in turn:

Function Orientation towards

Informational: subject-matter

Expressive: speaker-writer

Directive: listener/reader

Phatic: channel of communication

Aesthetic: message

2.2 Description of Vocabulary

2.2.1 Definition of Vocabulary

For a large majority of learners, the ultimate goal of studying is

to be able to communicate in a new language. If you do not wish to lean

completely on non-verbal skills, mastering vocabulary is not just

important, but crucial in a foreign language environment. Vocabulary is

one of the most important elements in language. Without it, no one can

speak or understand a language. In other words, when people do not

have much vocabulary or do not master it well, they cannot say or write

something. In order to convey ideas, thought and feeling, people need

much vocabulary so that the listener can understand it well. Vocabulary

is one of materials studied by students of all level of schools in

Indonesia. It has been mastered if they want to master English well. It is

impossible to be successful in study language without mastering the

vocabulary. Vocabulary is a central of language and of critical

importance of typical language. Without sufficient vocabulary, people

cannot communicate effectively or express his ideas in both oral and

written form. To support the speaker’s interaction in communication,

vocabulary becomes important because it can be used as basic

foundation to construct a word into a good sequence of sentence.

Therefore, the students should have to obtain vocabulary mastery.

Vocabulary not only aids in understanding other people, it is

also essential in comprehending the book and the article that we read.

Words that we unfamiliar with become little holes in the text that can

prevent from reaching the complete understanding of what we are

reading. So the more we increase vocabulary the better able to

understand news and current events and more widely varied the

conversation, discussion and debate.

 English vocabulary is complex, with three main aspects related

to form, meaning, and use, as well as layers of meaning connected to

the roots of individual words (Nation & Meara, 2010). Teaching

vocabulary is not just about words; it involves lexical phrases and

knowledge of English vocabulary and how to go about learning and

teaching it

There are many definitions of vocabulary stated by some

experts. According to Richards and Renandya (2002: 255), vocabulary is

a core component of language proficiency and provides much of the

basis of how well learners speak, read, listen and write. It is also related

to the definition of vocabulary stated by Hocket (in Celce-Murcia and Mc

Intosh, 1978: 129) that vocabulary is the easiest aspect at a foreign

language to learn and it hardly requires formal attention in the

classroom.

However, definition of vocabulary stated by Hornby (1995:

1331) is the total number of words in a language; all the words known to

a person or used in a particular book, subject, etc; a list of words with

their meaning, especially one that accompanies a textbook. Those

definitions show that vocabulary is the first element that the English

learners should learn in order to master English well besides the other

English components and skills.

Based on the definition above, I conclude that more vocabulary

the learners have, the easier for them to develop their four skills
(listening, reading, writing, and speaking) and learn English as the

foreign language generally.

2.2.2 Kinds of Vocabulary

According to Aebersold and field (1997: 139) there are two kinds of

vocabulary. They are According to Finnochiaro (1973: 74) there are two

kinds of vocabulary, namely active vocabulary and passive vocabulary.

Active vocabulary refers to the words the student understands, can

pronounce correctly and use them constructively in speaking and writing.

On the other hand, passive vocabulary refers to the words in which the

students can recognize and understand while they are reading or

listening to someone speaking, but they do not use the words in

speaking or in writing. It is related to the types of vocabulary stated by

Aebersold and field ( 1977) that active vocabulary refers to the items that

the learners can use appropriately in speaking. In other words, the

students are supposed to know the English well. While passive

vocabulary is language items that is used in reading and listening.

According to Judy K (2007) that Vocabulary varies in the four

skills of language, listening, writing, reading and speaking. Generally, a

student will absorb listening and speaking vocabulary before coming to

the reading and writing vocabulary. But in real situation, the process may

change, especially in foreign language. Reading vocabulary may

become the first stage before processing the speaking and listening

vocabulary.

According to Paulston and Burder (1976:160) and also Robinet

(1985:133) there are two kinds of vocabulary, productive vocabulary and

receptive vocabulary. Paulston and Burder state that productive

vocabulary is the words which reflect the ability to recall and use them

for the communicative purpose, and receptive vocabulary is the words

which reflect the ability to recognize the meaning of the words in reading

context. Meanwhile, Robinet states that productive vocabulary is the

words that are utilized in everyday speech, while respective vocabulary

is the words, which are needed for comprehension.

In addition, Ivan (1977:92) states that there are four kinds of

vocabulary. The first vocabulary is listening vocabulary which normally

develops early as the child begins to associate what is heard with

existing experiences. Listening vocabulary continues to expand, but as

the child begins to talk, a speaking vocabulary is also built, as the

second vocabulary. Later, the third and fourth vocabularies are reading

and writing vocabularies. This vocabulary develops somewhat

simultaneously, although reading vocabulary normally surpasses that of

writing. Listening vocabulary is usually the largest of the four.

Based on the explanation above, it is clear that vocabulary

support the four skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. If the

object of language learning is communication, no sub skill can be taught

 in isolation (Schleiter and Mudsen, 1978:11). It means that the four skills

can be presented integrated.

2.3 The Brief description of Autism

The word autism comes from the Greek: "Autos" (self) and "isms"

(flow) can be interpreted as a notion that is only interested in himself and

his own world. Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder related to

impaired communication, social interaction and imagination activities

(Dewi: 2006). Originally, the term referred to a striking disturbance in

schizophrenia, therefore, narrowing all sorts of relationships with people

and excluding everything except one self.

In 1943, Leo Kanner saw cases of strange children who seemed unable to

have any form of normal relationships with their peers. In contrast to

schizophrenia, he noticed this behavior appeared to have been there from

the very beginning. Furthermore, there was no progressive deterioration

which is the case with schizophrenia. Autism is a neuro-developmental

disorder characterized by impaired communication and social interaction

and repetitive behaviors.

Autism is characteristic by severe and pervasive impairments in

several important areas of development: reciprocal social interaction and

communication as well as behavior, and imagination. In order to be

diagnosed with autism, the behavioral symptoms in all of the above-

named areas must be present by age 3. Even if the parents often notice

that something is wrong during infancy, it is very difficult to diagnose

autism before the age of eighteen months. This is because the behavioral

symptoms used to establish the diagnosis have not clearly emerged

developmentally until that age. The majority of children with autism also

have a learning disability (mental retardation), although a few have

average intelligence. Many also have epilepsy, and visual and hearing

impairment are over-represented in this group. Persons with Asperger’s

syndrome, which is a condition resembling autism, have average or above

average intelligence .

2.3.1 The Characteristics of indication Autistic children

According to American Psychiatric Association (1994). Autism is

classified as a Pervasive Developmental Disorder. It is defined by

symptoms appearing before the age of three, which reflect delayed or

abnormal development in three areas:

1. Language Development means the autism doesn’t understand or

say many words, repeats things (“echoes”) or uses the third person.

2. Social Skills mean the autism not interested in peers, no imitative

play, poor eye contact, doesn’t respond when spoken to, doesn’t

show/point to things.

3. Behavioral Repertoire means the autism repetitively plays with

objects in a specific way or insists that things be done the same way

or engages in self stimulatory actions such as hand flapping, staring at

hands or fingers or smelling things.

 Many children with autism are also cognitively delayed, but the

presence and severity of specific symptoms and degree of mental

retardation is quite variable. Aside from sharing problems in the above

areas, children with autism are quite different from each other. Some

are affectionate, some do have pretend play, some speak fairly well,

and some do very little self-stimulating.

According to Perpasiv developmental disorder (PDD) is a term

used to describe indication of autism children into 5 characteristics of

groups under development disorders (umbrella term) PDD, namely:

1. Autistic Disorder (Autism) appears before the age of 3 years and

demonstrated the existence of barriers in social interaction,

communication and imaginative play ability and the presence of

stereotyped behavior in interest and activity.

2. Asperger's Syndrome Barriers to the development of social

interaction and the interests and activities are limited, generally do

not show delays in language and speech, as well as have the

intelligence level of the average to above average. Children with

Asperger disorder may be only mildly affected and they frequently

have good language and cognitive skill. They simply use language in

different ways. Speech patterns may be unusual, lack inflection and

have a rhythmic nature or may be formal but too loud or high

pitched. Children with Asperger disorder may not understand the

 subtleties of language such as humor and irony. Or they may not

understand the give and take nature of conversation

3. Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified (

PDD-NOS ) Referring to the term atypical autism , PDD-NOS

diagnosis applies if a child does not show the overall criteria of the

particular diagnosis (autism, Asperger's or Rett Syndrome).

4. Rett's syndrome is more common in girls and rarely occurs in

boys. Had experienced normal development and then deteriorates /

loss of its ability; loss of functional ability to move your hands are

replaced with waving hands repeatedly in the age range 1-4 years.

5. Childhood Disintegrative Disorder ( CDD ) Indicates normal

development during the first 2 years of age developmental then

suddenly lose the abilities that have been achieved before.

Because of the characteristics of people with autism have a lot of

variety so that the diagnosis of the most ideal way is to check the child

on several expert team of specialists such as neurological, child

psychologists, child disease specialist, language therapists, expert

teachers and other professional experts in the field of autism.

2.3.2 Causative factors of Autism

Experts have been doing research and generate hypotheses

about possible triggers of autism in (http://www.ibudanmama.com),

classified into six factors, namely genetic factors, factors womb

(prenatal), birth factors, environmental factors, factors drugs, and

dietary factors. Let us discuss one by one.

1. Factor of Genetic or hereditary

Genes become a powerful factor that causes children with

autism. If in the family has a history of autism, the next offspring has

a great chance to have autism. This is due to disruption of genes

that influence the development, growth and the formation of brain

cells. Trigger autism genetic condition can be caused by maternal

age during pregnancy is old or the age old father. It is known that

sperm-old man old prone to mutate and trigger autism. In addition,

mothers who have diabetes are also suspected as a trigger autism

in infants.

2. Factor of Womb (prenatal)

Conditions womb can also cause symptoms of autism.

Triggers autism in the womb can be caused by a virus that attacks

the first trimester, syndroma rubella virus. In addition, the health of

the environment also affect the health of the fetal brain in utero.

Negative impact of air pollution on fetal brain development and

physical thereby increasing the chances of babies born with autism

risk. In fact, the condition of the mother's womb problems

(complications of pregnancy) to bleed also be trigger symptoms of

autism. This condition causes the disruption of transport oxygen and

 nutrients to the baby that resulted in fetal brain disorders. In fact,

premature birth and birth weight less is also the risk of autism.

3. Factor of birth

Babies born with low weight, premature, and the old in the

womb (more than 9 months) risk of autism. In addition, infants with

respiratory failure (hipoksa) at birth are also at risk of developing

autism.

4. Factor of Environmental

Babies are born healthy or may not have autism.

Environmental factors (external) can also lead to babies suffering

from autism, such as stressful environment and not clean.

Environment that is not clean can cause allergic baby through the

mother. Therefore, avoid exposure to allergens such as cigarette

smoke, dust or foods that cause allergies.

5. Factors of drugs

Medications to relieve nausea, vomiting, or tranquilizers

consumed by pregnant mothers at risk of causing a child with

autism. Therefore, you should consult with a physician before

taking any medication of any type during pregnancy. In addition,

exposure to drugs opium (pain reliever) can disrupt neural

development so that the brain did not develop properly. In fact,

exposure to mercury also trigger the onset of autism in infants.

Mercury can come from: when you eat fish contaminated with
 mercury, the use of mercury-containing cosmetics, body care

ingredients composition baby mercury, and so on.

6. Factor of Dietary

Chemical substances in food is very dangerous for the

content. One of them, who are exposed to pesticides in

vegetables, is known that pesticides disrupt gene function in the

central nervous, causing children with autism.

2.3.3 Autism and Language

Difficulties with learning language are typical symptoms of

autism disorders. Children with autism experience problems due to

complications with their memory and will normally learn to speak much

later than other children. Children with autism have what is referred to

as a "gestalt" processing style. Literally translated, "gestalt," means

"whole." Learning language in a gestalt style means learning it in terms

of whole concepts or experiences, rather than through individual words

or word sounds. If an autistic child hears the word "dog," it represents

the whole of his or her experience of a dog, from its bark and smell to

the location of where one would normally see a dog.

One of the important diagnostic features in autism is qualitative

impairment in communication. By definition, children with autism show

delays and deficit in the acquisition of language, which range from the

almost complete absence of functional communication to adequate

linguistic knowledge but the impairment in the use of that language in

conversation or other discourse context. Some of the major of

characteristics of autism are abnormal speech pattern. Children with

autism are often nonverbal when initially diagnosed. Autistic children

tend to repeat certain words and phrases over and over. These

phrases are often quite in nature. Many people with autism are unable

to label objects or use and understand abstract concept until quite late.

Autism is a developmental disorder, affecting more than six

children in a thousand, and second only in frequency to mental

retardation (Newschaffer et al., 2007). It is a life-long biological disorder

with a wide range of appearances. Autism can appear in a mild or

severe form and with or without other handicaps or diminished mental

capacity.

The person, who fails to acquire any spoken language, and

struggles with signs, is at least recognized as having a problem, and

others may try hard to adjust, even though the real nature of the

difficulties may not be understood. The child with good speech,

however, is often misunderstood, with his/her difficulties being

attributed to a behavior problem, unless the nature of the

communication problem in autistic spectrum disorders is appreciated.

All people with autism spectrum disorders experience language

and communication difficulties, although there are considerable

differences in language ability among individuals. Some individuals are

nonverbal while others have extensive language with deficits in the

social use of language. They may seem caught up in a private world in

which communication is unimportant. This is not an intentional action

but rather an inability to communicate. That’s why autistic people often

have delayed and impaired language development, due to their

neurological disorder. Early indication that a child may be afflicted by

autism is a lack of age appropriate language development. Some

children who are severely autistic never learn to speak. When autistic

children start to speak, their speech is often severely limited in

vocabulary and syntax, and has unnatural pitch and intonation. Their

language development continues to be impaired, as they have very

diminished socialization capacity.

According to Indiana Resource Center for Autism (1997),

language difficulties in autistic children include:

1. Difficulties with nonverbal communication

2. Delay in or lack of expressive language skills

3. Significant differences in oral language, for those who do develop

language

There are also some diagnostics criteria for language. The

diagnostics criteria for language in American Psychiatric Association

listed in APA (2000) are:

1. Late or lack of development of language without attempt to

compensate with gestures,

2. Impairment in the ability to initiate or sustain a conversation,

3. Stereotyped, repetitive and idiosyncratic language.

From the statements above, students with autism spectrum

disorders often have difficulty comprehending verbal information,

following long verbal instructions and remembering a sequence of

instructions. The comprehension of language may be context-specific.

The extent of difficulty varies among individuals, but even those who

have normal intelligence, usually referred to as high-functioning, and

may have difficulty comprehending verbal information.

In spite of the fact that autism children communication seems to

be different from other children (Dahlgren & Gilberg in Siegel, 1996),

some of children with autism can communicate with their environment.

It is proven by how some of children with autism can speak, and the

fact that their articulation is often normal or even precocious (Kjelgaard

& Tager-flusberg in Siegel, 1996). From that statement above, there is

a fact that children with an autistic condition is not different with a

Typically Developing (TD) children, they just less than TD children.

They may have difficulty comprehending oral and written information,

for example, following directions or understanding what they read. Yet

some higher-functioning individuals are relatively capable of identifying

words, applying phonetic skills and knowing word meanings. Some

students also may demonstrate strength in certain aspects of speech

and language, such as sound production, vocabulary and simple

grammatical structures, yet have significant difficulty carrying on a

conversation, and using speech for social and interactive purposes.

Children with autism might have problems talking with you, or they

might not look you in the eye when you talk to them. They may have to

line up their pencils before they can pay attention, or they may say the

same sentence again and again to calm themselves down. They may

flap their arms to tell you they are happy, or they might hurt themselves

to tell you they are not. Some people with autism never learn how to

talk.
 CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHOD

This chapter presents research method that consists of research

design, population and sample, techniques of data collection and

techniques of data analysis

3.1 Research Design

The research used qualitative approach based on case study as

the framework of descriptive method. It means that descriptive tries to

find, analyze and give the conclusion of the data which have been found.

3.2 Population and Sample

3.2.1 Population

The population in the research was students from Sekolah Luar

Biasa Rajawali,Makassar.

3.2.2 Sample

The sample of this research was the whole autism students of

Junior High School of Sekolah Luar Biasa Rajawali Makassar where

the writer took five students. It means to get the data, this research

used Total sampling technique.

3.3 Techniques of Data Collection

3.3.1 Observation

This instrument used to collect data was observation. This purpose

is to get the direct and real information from the informants to collect

25
information related to the research. As the result, the researcher can

understand the condition and believes the accuracy of the data.

3.3.2 Interview

Researcher conducted interviews to find more information needed.

In this case, this instrument was used to support data obtained

through observation Interview was used to find information about the

influence of English vocabulary toward speaking ability of autism

children. Interviews in this study addressed to English Teachers and

Parents of Autism children. The researcher using:

1. Recording: In this case, recording data were obtained through

interviewing process and field notes. In the field of the study, this

recording mainly contributed to get verbal data or dialogues that

cannot be understood directly by the respondent.

2. Field Notes: The researcher make brief notes during the

observation. The filed note consist of the information notes what

the researcher seen and heard. Field notes in this study with the

result of recording.

3.3.3 Documentation

Documentation is a technique of data collection by gathering and

analyzing documents whether written documents, pictures and

electronic. In this case, documentation in this study consist of pictures

of students activity during the learning process.

3.4 Data Analysis

The process of analyzing the data started by observing and

recording the learning process. After observing the learning process, the

researcher conducted interview. The data from note-taking and recording

were analyzed to get the accurate information. Next, the writer will read

and listen carefully. Thus, coding the data, categorizing information and

putting them into theme and identifying the data based on the problem.

The data management carried out manually during data analysis. Data

was analyzed and classified into categories for completeness and

accuracy.
 CHAPTER IV

FINDING AND DISCUSSION

This chapter presents the finding and discussions of the research. Each

of the items are presented deeply as follow

4.1 findings

4.1.1 The ability of autism children in using English vocabulary

The observation of English learning process of autism children was

held in Sekolah Luar Biasa Rajawali Makassar. The observation

was held three times. The first observation was held on tuesday,

24th of February 2015, at 08.00 am. The focus of observation was

intended to find the information about the ability of autism children

in using English vocabulary. Based on the result of observation,

the autism children were able to identify the meaning of English

words. The ability of autism children in using English vocabulary

can be revealed on the transcript below:

The transcript above was a sample of conversation between

teacher and a student during the teaching and learning process.

The data was taken from video on first day of observation. The

transcript shows that student was able to pronounce English words

even though there was a little mistake produced by student.

Student was also able to answer questions given by teacher. In

teaching English, teacher used some pictures in order the student

can learn English easily.

28
 The ability of autism children in mastering English

vocabulary were also can be revealed on this one:

The data from the video during class observation. The data was a

sample of conversation between teacher and one of junior high

school student, Agus. He is a student of third grade. Based on the

result of observation, during the teaching and learning process, he

can answer the questions well. It can be seen on the transcript that

he can identify the English of part of body well but still using

inappropriate pronunciation since he is Childhood Disintegrative

Disorder ( CDD ) student.

Inspite of having Childhood disintegrative Disorder (CDD)

agus also can produce and identify some vocabulary related to

things in the classroom. I

Below is another example of conversation between teacher

and student showing the ability of autism children in mastering

English vocabulary. It can be seen on the transcript below:

 The data above was taken from video on class observation at the

third class students. Agra was third grade students who were

studying English He is 19 years old and Pervasive Developmental

Disorder student. Based on the result of observation, Agra was

able to mention English vocabulary well and were able to identify

some vocabularies related to name of fruits. He can answer all the

questions given by the teacher well. He could also mention basic

English vocabulary related to the topic by using appropriate

pronunciation.

The ability of autism children in mastering English vocabulary

also shown by another student. Ahmad was a first grade student

who was able to identify name of animal in English, even though it

was found that there was little mistake, but overall, he was able to

mention English vocabulary related to the topic. When teacher

asked questions, he could answer them but because of he is

Asperger’s syndrome student, he tent to show different response

like shouting loudly or making sound to imitate an object.

 Teacher: sekarang warna……warna merah apa bahasa
inggrisnya?
Student: red
Teacher: kalau hitam?
Student: black
Teacher: kalau coklat
Student: chocolato (making mistake)
Teacher: coklat brown…..kalau biru?
Student: blue
Teacher: kuning?
Student: yeo…..
Teacher: (correcting) yellow …..

The transcript above shows that, autism student can identify the

basic English words related to the color. In this case, when

teaching the name of color the teacher used cards that consist of

same colors. The cards were intended to make the students learn

the material directly because autism children are visual learners. It

means that the learning process will be more effective when

students can see the object.

It is related to result of observation on the second meeting on

Thursday, March 12th 2015 at 08.30 am. The data was taken from

video. From the result of observation, it was found that students

were also able to identify adjective. It can be seen from the

following simple conversation between the English teacher and

student in question-answer interaction

 To shows that autism students were able to identify name of

adjective. During the observation, the technique that used by the

teacher in presenting materials for students was listening and

repeating, while to know the ability of students in mastering English

vocabulary, the teacher used question and answer strategy.

The ability of autism children in mastering English vocabulary,

can also be revealed in the following transcript

The data above was taken on the second class

observation. The result shows that autism children were able to

identify English vocabulary related to the things around them. The

sample conversation between teacher and student above shows

that autism student can mention name of things around the class

when teacher asked the student several questions. Even though

some of the questions cannot be answered and some words are

pronounced inappropriately but the student was trying to learn by

repeating after the teacher correcting the pronunciation.

Not only able to identify basic English grammar, autism

children also able to use basic expression used in daily interaction.

It can be seen on the following transcript:

The data above shows that autism children could also identify

simple expression in English such as expression of greetings and

leave taking. From the data above, teacher still using the same
 strategy when teaching student. The teacher keep questioning

student and correcting student when making mistake. Besides, the

teacher keep asking student to repeat the correct word so that

student can remember it or the word kept longer in their mind.

4.1.2 The influence of English language to autism children in

speaking

English become very important even for autism children. To

find out the information about the influence of English on students

speaking ability, the interview technique was held on March, 19 th

2015 at 08.40 a.m in waiting room of Sekolah luar biasa Rajawali,

Makassar. The researcher had interviewed the English teacher as

well as students’ parents to get the data. The result of interview

below shows that the English language has a great influence for

autism children where they used English to understand the

utterance being spoken by the speaker. In order to understand the

communication well, the autism children used English to convey

the message or to get the message from the speaker. It is because

some autism children can only learn English words that consist of

only one syllable. it can be revealed on the transcript below:

The data above was taken by interviewing parents of

students. The researcher found out that the autism children learn

English in order to communicate with their family at home. In other

words, English has a great influence that supports the students in

 order to be easy to convey idea, feeling or to understand the

meaning of words. That’s because autism children has limitation in

communication. Based on the transcript above, English become

tool of communication that enables the students and their parents

to share ideas or understand the meaning of words that are not

able to understand by using Indonesian language.

The influence of English on speaking ability of autism

children can also be revealed from the result of interviewing

another parent of students. The transcript was presented below:

The data above was taken from the English teacher of

Sekolah Luar Biasa Rajawali at monday, 23 th 2015. Based on the

result of interview, it was found that English become important

aspect in understanding language presented on computer. Since

autism children are interested in learning by computer especially

playing games, so English can help them to understand the

instruction

4.2 . Discussion

In terms of teaching and learning activities in the classroom, during

class observation the teacher applied some strategies such as

question and answer, using picture as a teaching media that represent

the object, and also asked students to listen and repeat the material.

Dealing with the ability of autism children in mastering English

vocabulary, the finding shows that most of autism students in Sekolah

Luar biasa Rajawali, Makassar were able to identify the basic English

vocabulary. It was found that most of autism children can identify

English vocabulary like noun that related to things in the classroom,

adjective, name of animals, colors, fruits, part of body. They also can

count and used some basic expressions such as how to use

expressions of greeting and leave taking in English. It is surprising that

even though they are different from normal students, they can learn

English well and even better than normal students. It can be seen from

the exercise given by the teacher. Autism students can finish the

exercise well, they can also mention English words appropriately, by

using good pronunciation. As an example, when the teacher asked

them to answer the questions orally, they were able to answer them.

So does the exercises in written form, students were able to finish it.

During class observation, the English teacher commonly used picture

in presenting materials so that the students can understand the

English language well. It is related to the theory stated by Grandin

(2006:1) that the use of picture can make autism students recognize

the name of object in English easily. It has relation with the theory

proposed by Darula (2010: 1) that in teaching vocabulary for autism

students, picture is more effective because it represents the word in

visual object. It means, the picture represent the object they will learn.

Dealing with the influence of English on students speaking ability,

the research found that English as an international language is

important for autism children in daily communication. They can

communicate by using English when they found difficulty in

understanding word spoken in Indonesian language. English also can

help autism children in understanding instruction on the computer. For

instance, when they play games, they are easily to understand the

given instruction.
 CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

5.1 Conclusion

The influence of English on students’ speaking ability was

English is a tool of communication that is used by autism

students to convey the message that cannot be delivered

by using Indonesian language.

5.2 Suggestion

Based on the result of this study, it is suggested to the institutional

education to provide facilities that support the teaching and learning

process. It is also suggested for the English teacher to find teaching

methods that suitable for the autism children and apply interesting

teaching media that do not only interesting but also effective, motivate

students and suitable with their need.

37
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APPENDIXES