RESEARCH PROPOSAL

IMPROVING SPEAKING SKILL OF THE EIGHTH GRADE

STUDENTS OF SMP NEGERI 3 UBUD IN ACADEMIC YEAR
2023/2024 THROUGH ROLE PLAY

NI KADEK CAHYANI DWI LESTARI

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION
UNIVERSITAS MAHASARASWATI DENPASAR
DENPASAR
2024
 RESEARCH PROPOSAL

IMPROVING SPEAKING SKILL OF THE EIGHTH GRADE

STUDENTS OF SMP NEGERI 3 UBUD IN ACADEMIC YEAR
2023/2024 THROUGH ROLE PLAY

NI KADEK CAHYANI DWI LESTARI

NPM: 2001882030047

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION
UNIVERSITAS MAHASARASWATI DENPASAR
DENPASAR
2024
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
COVER...............................................................................................................................i
INSIDE COVER................................................................................................................ii
APPROVAL SHEET.........................................................................................................iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS..................................................................................................iv

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION...........................................................................5
1.1 Background of study....................................................................5
1.2 Research problem .......................................................................8
1.3 Objective of the study .................................................................8
1.4 Limitation of the study................................................................9
1.5 Significance of the study ............................................................9
1.6 Definition of key term ................................................................10

CHAPTER II THEORITICAL AND EMPIRICAL REVIEW ..........................11

2.1 Theoretical review ......................................................................11
2.1.1 Speaking skills ................................................................11
2.1.2 Scripted role-play.............................................................12
2.2 Empirical review ........................................................................14

CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHOD...................................................................16

3.1 Subject of the study ....................................................................16
3.2 Research design...........................................................................16
3.3 Research procedure ....................................................................18
3.4 Research instrument ...................................................................21
3.5 Data collection ............................................................................23
3.6 Data analysis................................................................................24
3.7 Success indicator ........................................................................25
REFERENCES..................................................................................................................26
 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

According to Brown (2004), speaking is important in foreign language,
especially in English because, speaking is an interactive process of constructing
meaning, reception and processing of information. Speaking are productive skills
which are one of the language skills that play a role in the ability to communicate
everyday by humans to convey thoughts, opinions and explanations or ideas on a
topic. Mastering speaking skill in English is a priority for many second languages or
foreign language learners. In learning, speaking skills are not only done when
communicating with friends or teacher. However, this skill can be developed and
improved as an effective means of communication.
Besides, Turk (2002) states that speaking is the highest level of everyday
interaction, because it makes it possible for people to communicate with one another
in the most direct and immediate ways. Speaking is a tool for communication that
also involves a relationship between the speaker and the listener, who both serve
important roles in life, particularly in social interactions. English speakers should
even be able to speak in a variety of contexts and situations. Even students are
required to speak English at school, inside and outside of the classroom. So that as a
teacher it is the responsibility to make students able to speak fluently and
communicatively.
Harmer (2001) argues that there are basic reasons for providing speaking
activities to students that encourage them to consider all languages under their
control. The first is the outside of the classroom, the activities allow the students a
chance to discuss and practice the material. It allows students to experience what
speaking a foreign language is truly like. The second are exercises for providing
feedback to students. The students may and should be greatly motivated by the
effective speaking activities. If the teachers successfully complete all the steps, such
factors can support the students' demand for language.
Richards (2006) argues developing fluency is one of the goals of CLT. In
addition, the experience of learning the language is important. To master the
speaking skill, the students have to be accustomed using English in oral
communication.

In SMP Negeri 3 Ubud, especially in eighth-grade students constantly come

across with some problems. The problem constantly encountered is that their native
language causes them difficult to use the foreign language. Other reason is because
of motivation lack to exercise the second language in daily conversation. They are
also hysterical to actively participate in the conversation. Many factors can cause the
problem of the students speaking skills namely the student the material, the media,
and the inappropriate use of instructional technique. In line with the statement above
to support it, the students need some classroom activities which enable them to
develop their skills to participate in oral communications.
Related to the importance of speaking, it is a challenging for English teachers
in SMP Negeri 3 Ubud to teach speaking in a classroom setting especially in eighth-
grade students. The teacher use the old technique, focuses on Teacher-Centered
Learning where the main focus of the learning process is. In use this technique, the
teacher is responsible for designing and delivering materials, while the students are
passive recipients of knowledge. The teacher is seen as the expert and the primary
source of information, while the students are expected to listen, take notes, and
memorize the material presented. The emphasis is just on the teacher imparting
knowledge and information to the students.
Teaching techniques can help to make lessons more interesting and engaging
for students. This can increase student motivation and participation in the learning
process. Old learning techniques may not provide enough opportunities for in eighth
grade students to practice speaking in real-life situations, which may limit their
ability to develop speaking skills. Old techniques can be boring and may not engage
the students as well as more interactive and participatory approaches. Besides, it will
limiting opportunities for student interaction and collaboration. This can inhibit the
development of social and communication skills. From existing problems, teachers
can pick one of language-teaching activities that is appropriate for students speaking
skill. One of them is employing role-play activity in the teaching and learning.
According to Pollard (2008), Role-play is a teaching technique in which the
teacher assigns students a situation with some roles. The students then choose the
role. The students who choose the same role then sit and discuss together their roles.
The students go back to their previous roles and prepare the role play. Finally, the
groups perform their short role play in front of the class.

Huang (2008) applies six major steps in the procedure for the role play
activities in her classes. Those are deciding on the teaching materials, selecting
situations and create dialogs, teaching the dialogs for role plays, having students
practice the role plays, having students modify the situations and dialogs, evaluating
and checking students' comprehension. According to Harmer (1998) role-play
activities are those which students are required to imagine that they are in different
situations and act them out. Role play technique is the manner to teach speaking by
putting in the students inside the conditions in pairs or groups. In addition, it also
allows students to be creative and to put themselves in some other person’s place for
a while, this means setting two or greater students together and giving them a
handout sheet, which they can, first, study and have a look at, taking time to look-up
unknown words and asking their friends about meanings and pronunciation.
Then, deliver them a bit extra time to exercise speaking, with every person in
the room reading aloud to get a feel for the role they'll be playing and get used to
the words sounds, terms and the rhythm of the language (David Holmes, 2004).
In addition, Manorom and Pollock (2006) also suggested the following steps
for implementing a role play. The described as follows. Briefing stage, in this case,
the students get more information about the role-play clearly. They understand about
the roles are, and also they can establish relationship boundaries among the students.
The next is interaction stage. It is a chance for students to assume their roles and
develop relationship with other students. After that is forum stage. In this case, it
sees participants who engage in direct interaction involving all the students. Then,
the last step is debriefing stage. It is the most important element in role play. The
students come out the roles fully for the debrief session so that they might reflect on
their role and others objectively
The researcher selected role-playing techniques to be applied in this study as
a means to prove how these strategies work to overcome students' problems in class
VIII students of SMP N 3 Ubud because of the advantages of role-playing
techniques that can be seen, for involve students more in developing speaking skills.
Research has shown that, when students practice role playing in front of the class,
their understanding and retention scores rise according to the quality and intensity of
their performances. Therefore, research on the use of role-playing strategies is
required to help in enhancing the speaking skill of class VII students at SMP N 3
Ubud.
1.2 Research Problem
It is important for the teacher to choose one of the appropriate language
teaching activities for students' speaking skills so that students will be more
interested, active, and motivated in learning to speak. In this study the main problem
is the technique used by the teacher. The teacher gives few opportunities for students
to express their ideas. From the background above, the weakness or difficulty faced
by Grade VIII students of SMPN 3 Ubud is that they are still difficult to express
 themselves in speaking English. When students are asked to do a speaking test in
front of the class, most of them make mistakes in pronunciation and lack knowledge
of the vocabulary used. To overcome students' problems in learning English,
especially in practicing speaking English, the researcher tries to carry out
communication activities that are role play. As one of the speaking activities, role
playing activities provide many opportunities for students to communicate in
extraordinary contexts and social roles. . The problems investigated in this study can
be focused on the following research questions: "Can speaking skill of the eighth
grade students of SMP Negeri 3 Ubud in academic year 2023/2024 be improved
through scripted role play techniques?”

1.3 Objective of the Study

The research objectives is the goal to be carried out or. By knowing the
purpose of the research, it will help researchers to pay attention to the process of
collecting data in this study. From the research questions, students of class VIII SMP
N 3 Ubud need to improve their speaking skills, especially in English. There are
such a lot of one of a kind techniques to improve the students’ fulfillment in
speaking but in this case, the role play technique is a good strategy and researchers
are interested in implementing it. In accordance with the research problems that have
been formulated, this research is intended to find solutions or answer research
problems. According to the formulation of the problem, this study aims to find out
whether using the role play technique can improve the speaking skills of the VIII
students of SMP N 3 Ubud in academic year 2022/2023.
This research was also conducted to stimulate students to form a communication
environment where students actively participate in several real-world systems and
functions, as well as to encourage students to be more interested and motivated in
speak.
1.4 Limitation of the Study
The researcher need to limit the study. It aims to avoid problems that can occur
and helps to stay focused on research. The term "speaking" really has a rather broad
definition, requiring the use of study limits. Indeed, the depth and complexity of the
problems covered in this research is what determines its limits .From the background
of the study and problem identification, this research was carried out by focusing on
improving the speaking skill of The VIII of SMPN 3 Ubud in academic year
2023/2024 the role play technique.
The researcher desires to recognize the syllabus that used inside the school in
order to make a lesson plan. This present take a look at will recognition at the third
main competency and basic competency since the problem is productive skill. The
third basic competency 3.11 is about constructing short and simple dialogue about
man or woman, thing and animal according with social feature, textual content
structure and language features successfully and contextually. Similarly, it will focus
on language factors of private pronoun and adverb of quantity there's and there are.
Furthermore, it must fulfil the standards of scoring rubric by means of Oshima and
Hogue (2006) which focused on format, mechanics, content, agency, grammar and
sentence established.

1.5 Significance of the Study

The researcher is interested in the use of role-play to enhance the speaking
skills of the eighth-grade students at SMPN 3 Ubud in academic year 2023/2024. To
ensure that the results of this study are useful, both theoretical and practical
considerations are crucial. Also, theoretical and practical applications to improve and
support a well stated explanation. The following definitions describe the theoretical
and practical significance:
The research study theoretically aims to strengthen the theories of speaking.
Also, understanding the function of speaking and using role-playing.
The results of employing a role-playing technique the results of using a role-
playing technique to increase students' speaking skill support and contribute to the
theory. The theories employed in this study can complement the references already
available and provide support for the explanation. The results of the current study
may be utilized as empirical data that is anticipated to guide other researchers in the
future if they choose to conduct role-playing, writing, and action research in the
classroom. Thus, the theories might help the teacher comprehend and create a plan
for the teaching and learning process.
Practically speaking, the results of this study should be useful to teachers,
students, and other researchers. The researcher expects that by using the role-play
technique, the study will be able to assist students, particularly those at SMPN 3
Ubud, in resolving issues with their speaking skill. The study's findings also provide
some ideas for English teachers, particularly those at SMPN 3 Ubud. They may use
the information to improve speaking skills in teaching and learning process. On the
other hand, the results are expected to inspire the students to improve their speaking
skill.
1.6 Definition of Key Term
In conducting classroom action research, some terms are used in this study.
The main words in this study are broken down into two categories. Speaking skill is
the first, and role-play technique is the second. Also, it is imperative that the
important phrases employed in the current study be operationally defined in order to
prevent misunderstandings and to make it simpler for the researcher to comprehend
the explanation's main points. The following operational definitions are provided for
essential terms:
1. Speaking Skill: Operationally defined as student skills in performing short role
play fluently, comprehensively and grammatically. It involves using proper
pronunciation, and vocabulary to convey a message clearly and appropriately.
2. Role Play is a teaching technique in which the teacher assigns students a
situation with some roles. The students then choose the role. The students who
choose the same role then sit and discuss together their roles. The students go
back to their previous roles and prepare the role play. Finally, the groups perform
their short role play in front of the class.
 CHAPTER II

THEORITICAL AND EMPIRICAL REVIEW

2.1 Theoretical Review

In this chapter, the researcher describes the theories that underline this
research. There are many different perspectives from experts but those are dealing
with the topic discussed as follows: (1) Speaking Skill (2) Role Play. In the case of
role-play, a theoretical review would involve an in-depth analysis of the various
theories and concepts that are relevant to the use of role-play in speaking skill. The
purpose of a theoretical review is to provide a comprehensive and critical overview
of the existing theories and research on a particular topic. It aims to identify gaps and
inconsistencies in the existing literature, as well as to highlight the strengths and
limitations of the theories and concepts that have been used.
A theoretical review of speaking skill and role-play might include a
discussion of the various theoretical frameworks that underpin its use. It might also
examine empirical studies that have evaluated the effectiveness of role-play in
improving speaking skills, as well as studies that have identified limitations and
potential drawbacks to its use.
2.1.1 Speaking Skill
Speaking is one of the important skills in human. Nunan (1993) says that the
importance of speaking skill is obviously noticed regarding the role of human as
social being who depends himself more on speaking rather than writing when
interacting with others. It is supported by Brown (2001), speaking is an interactive
process of conducting meaning that involves producing, receiving and processing
information. It can be concluded that speaking is a tool of communication to each
other’ where the speaker can deliver his/her idea, opinion, feeling through verbal
skill to the listener.
Speaking is a productive skill that can be directly and empirically observed,
according to Brown (2004), but these observations are invariably influenced by a
test-accuracy taker and effectiveness in listening, which inevitably undermines the
validity and reliability of an oral production test. Also, according to Thornbury
(2005), speech is an aspect of daily life that we take for granted.
 It is interactive and calls for cooperation in the scheduling of speaking time. As it is
a skill, it must be acquired and exercised separately from the grammatical
curriculum.
Moreover, Mackey (2007) defines speaking as vocal expression that
includes the employment of the appropriate rhythmic and intonatory patterns as well
as the appropriate sequencing to transmit the appropriate meaning. According to the
definitions given above, speaking is the act of communicating thoughts, feelings, or
opinions to others through the use of words or sounds of articulation in order to
inform, persuade, or entertain. This skill can be acquired through the use of certain
teaching-learning methodologies.
According to Chaney (1998) speaking is the process of creating and
exchanging meaning by means of verbal and non-verbal symbols, in a variety of
situations. Moreover, according to Gert and Hans (2008); speaking is speech, or
statements with an aim to be understood by the speaker the receiver analyzes the
statements to understand the speaker's intentions. Speaking is social in that it fosters
rapport and understanding, affects social identity, and calls for the use of
interpersonal skills (Thornbury and Slade, 2005). When teaching speaking in a
formal classroom setting, this social aspect is communicated through desires,
thoughts, attitudes, opinions, and judgements, which might be incongruous.
According to the definitions given above, speaking is the process of developing and
exchanging meaning, wants, feelings, attitudes, ideas, and judgements that should be
understood by both the speaker and the listener in a communication situation.

On the same hand, Theodore Huebner in Mevada S, & Gurjar, C. (2015)

says “Language is essentially speech, and speech is basically communication by

sounds.” So, on the basis of above given definitions it can be said that speaking is a

productive skill of building and sharing meaning through verbal and non-verbal

symbols by using sounds.

2.1.2 Role-play
In this part there is some theories related to scripted Role-play
The Nature of Role-play
According to Pollard (2008), Role-play is a teaching technique in which the
teacher assigns students a situation with some roles. The students then choose the
role. The students who choose the same role then sit and discuss together their roles.
The students go back to their previous roles and prepare the role play. Finally, the
groups perform their short role play in front of the class. Huang (2008) applies six
major steps in the procedure for the role play activities in her classes. Those are
deciding on the teaching materials, selecting situations and create dialogs, teaching
the dialogs for role plays, having students practice the role plays, having students
modify the situations and dialogs, evaluating and checking students' comprehension.
Cook (2001) highlighted that role play is one of the methods that enable
students to improve a range of real life spoken language in the classroom. Moreover,
according to Huang's (2008) one technique for teaching students speaking skills is
the role-playing technique. Role play is indeed a useful learning experience for both
the teacher and the pupils. Students' English speaking, listening, and comprehension
will increase in addition to giving them more opportunity to "act" and "interact" with
their peers who are attempting to utilize the language. Role play makes the
classroom atmospheres more fun and lively. Students gain the ability to utilize the
language in a more practical, realistic manner. This will help them understand how
valuable and useful English is.
According to Byrne (1986), role play involves interpreting either the textbook
dialogue or speaking text in the form of speech. Role play involves interpreting
either the textbook dialogue or speaking text in the form of speech. In line with
Byrne, Harmer (2001:271) states that the students perform a role based on the
dialogue in the script. The main function of the text after all is to convey the
meaning of language items in a memorably way. The main function of the text after
all is to convey the meaning of language items in a memorably way. Several
quantitative research studies have shown how role-playing activities may help
students improve their spoken communication abilities (Alwahibee, 2004).
Role-Play technique to be used and investigated in this study since this
technique is considered not making stressful atmosphere for student because role
play can increase engagement by providing a dynamic and interactive learning
experience that is relevant to participants' needs and goals and can give the students
more opportunity to prepare and rehearse the dialog before performing it in front of
the class (Chotirat, 2010). In this teaching technique, students can express their
feeling freely based on the situation or prompt given by the teacher; therefore,
students can use some
expressions in English based on the real context. As such is in line with the purpose
of learning language as stated above.
While engaging in the role-playing exercises, the students will be able to
develop linguistic correctness, appropriateness, and fluency (Ding & Liu, 2009).
Beside that, teachers can save time and effort while still teaching speaking in an
engaging way by employing role play. Also, there will be additional chances for the
 students to develop their speaking skills. Also, they will be more inventive in
developing their thoughts before speaking. Role play is one of the teaching
technique that allows students to act as either themselves or another person, which
makes the students more likely to speak out.

2.2 Empirical Review

Empirical studies are relevant studies that can be used to review previous
studies that are relevant to this research. The word empirical refers to the collection
of data using evidence that is collected through observation or experience or by
using calibrated scientific instruments. The goal of an empirical review is to get a
thorough grasp of past hypotheses. In other words, an empirical review is a study of
the findings from prior investigations conducted by other researchers. There are two
studies that are relevant to this research and this section mostly focuses on
addressing the reviews of two completed research studies. The researcher decided to
review the research as an empirical review as follows:
The research was conducted under the title “ELESP Students’ Perception On
The Use of Scripted Role Play To Improve Speaking Ability In Play Performance
Class”.” This research conducted by Paradewari, D. S. (2015). The objectives of this
study was to speaking skill through Role Play technique in academic year
20215/2016. The results of this study on the result of questionnaire, the percentage
of agreement level reached 85.4%. For the interview results, the twelve respondents
agreed that the implementation of the scripted role play was going well.
Accordingly, the students had a positive perception on the implementation of
the scripted. It can be conclude that the students had a positive perceptions on the use
of scripted role-play technique in teaching learning process.
However, there are still deficiencies, namely related to the absence of a supporting
main theory in explaining the steps of implementing scripted role play. Scripted role
plays can be an effective way to simulate real-life scenarios and practice skills in a
controlled environment. However, the success of a scripted role play depends on the
steps taken to implement it effectively.
The second title is “Improving the Students’ Speaking Ability Through Role-
Play Method” This research conducted by Adawiyah, R. (2013). Based on the
theoretical review, the researcher will use role play to improve the students’
speaking skills. Role play has been proven to improve students speaking skill in the
context of English teaching and learning. Several studies about using role play in
teaching speaking have been conducted by some researchers. The result of study
found that the students’ problem about speaking ability could be successfully solved
through role play technique. In general, the students’ problem about speaking ability
could be successfully solved through role play technique. This can be seen from the
comparison between the mean score of the pre-test and that of the post-test.
However, there are still deficiencies, namely related to the absence of a supporting
main theory in explaining the steps of implementing scripted role play.
The strengths of this study were the researcher already giving a very specific
explanation but still related to research variables and provided good related theories
from experts to support the statements. In addition, the lesson plan that the
researcher made was complete but, unfortunately the steps of implementing scripted
role-play technique in the lesson plan were unclear. During the engagement phase of
scripted role-play, the researcher simply showed an example of dialogue with the
material without guiding the students how to practice through the technique.
Regarding of the weakness above, in this present study, the researcher tries to give a
good brainstorming first. Then, the researcher gives and invites the students to read
an example of dialogue that has been conducted in the lesson plan improving the
student performance in speaking process through role-play will allows students to
act as either themselves or another person, which makes the students more likely to
speak out.
 CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHOD

3.1 Subject of the Study

A population is any group of individual that have one or more characteristics
in common that are interest to researcher (Best, 1997). In this research, the eighth-
grade students of SMP N. 3 Ubud in academic year 2023/2024 were taken as
population. Besides, sample is part of the population which is used as the source of
the real data of research. VIII B class was used to be sample of the research. There
were 32 student, 17 boys and 15 girls students. The researcher members found
obstacles and weaknesses of the speaking learning process, beside that the serious
problem was found in speaking skill. Their ability in speaking was low especially in
speaking performance. The students difficult to use the foreign language especially
in performing speaking fluently, comprehensively, and grammatically. These group
of students selected as the subject of the study because the students’ ability in
speaking to be improved.
3.2 Research Design
This study was carried out utilizing the Classroom Action Research (CAR)
methodology. It is a component of several different types of action research,
including participatory research, critical action research, and action research
(Phillips & Carr, 2010). Additionally, Koshy (2005) noted that one crucial aspect of
action research is that it presents chances for teamwork. Additionally, according to
Mills (2003), action research is any systematic investigation carried out by teacher
researchers.
Classroom Action Research (CAR) is a flexible research method that allows
teachers to conduct research in their own classrooms to improve their teaching
practices and enhance student learning outcomes. According Cohen (2005), explains
that classroom action research is a collaborative, self-reflective, and iterative process
of inquiry that allows teachers to explore their own practice, improve their teaching,
and enhance their students' learning outcomes. She emphasizes the importance of
researchers, who have the knowledge, skills, and expertise to identify the challenges
in their own classrooms and develop effective solutions.
The primary goal of classroom action research is to enhance student learning
outcomes by improving the quality of teaching practices. Through classroom action
research, teachers can collect and analyze data on their teaching practices and the
learning outcomes of their students. They can then use this data to identify areas for
improvement, develop interventions and strategies for change, and evaluate the
effectiveness of these interventions. The purpose of this classroom action research is
to improve the students reading comprehension of the eighth-grade students of SMP
N 3 Ubud in the academic year 2021/2022 Through Scripted Role-Play technique.
According to Ary et (2010), classroom action research is systematic inquiry
conducted by teachers or other stakeholders in the teaching and learning
environment to improve their own practice. They emphasize the importance of C as
a tool for improving teaching and learning outcomes, as well as for fostering
professional growth among educators. Outline the key steps involved in the
classroom action research process, which include identifying the problem or area of
focus, collecting and analyzing data, and using the findings to inform changes in
instructional practices. Overall, they present classroom action research as a valuable
method for addressing educational challenges and improving teaching and learning
outcomes, while also acknowledging the potential challenges and limitations of this
research method. Their chapter provides a useful resource for educators and
researchers interested in learning more about classroom action research and its
potential applications in the classroom.
 There were two cycles in this research. The researcher planned of the action,
implemented the action and did reflection in each cycle. In the planning stage, the
researcher prepared the lesson plans, the course grid, the pre-test, the post-test 1 and
the post-test 2, the observation checklist, interview guidelines and the questionnaire.
In implementing the actions, the researcher worked together with the English teacher
as a collaborator and the students to identify and to investigate the problems that
occurred in the English teaching and learning process. The researcher then did a
reflection and continued to the next cycle when the action of the previous cycle was
considered unsuccessful. The research design that used in the presents study is
classroom action research which all of the process will take place in the classroom.
This research focuses on the attempt to improve student’ English speaking skill in
the eighth-grade of SMP 3 Ubud by scripted role-play. Below is classroom action
research model based on Kemmis and McTaggart (1998):

3.3 Research Procedure

In this study, the researcher employed a process called Classroom Action
Research (CAR), which is divided into four phases whitin one cycle. Those are
planning, action, observation and reflection. The research's processes are carried out
by adopting two cycles, each with four sessions. Those steps are interrelated each
other that must be carried out during the research. In addition, those are repeated
according to the result after collecting the data of previous cycle. The next cycle
carried out if the result could not reach the success indicator. There were five phases
in the action research, which include problem identification, planning, action and
observation, and reflecting. The researchers used the procedure of action research
proposed by Kemmis and Mc Taggart (1988) in Koshy (2005:4). The procedure:
3.3.1 Initial Reflection (IR)
Before prepare the planning, the study started by administrating Initial
Reflection (IR) to the subject, to evaluate pre-existing of the students’ critical
reading skill. A classroom action research always starts from administering IR and
interview. In this study, it was done by interviewing the English teacher and
administering pre-test activities to assess the subjects ability in reading
comprehension before the role-play technique was applied. The researcher gave the
subjects a pre-test to understand their speaking ability.
Pre-test was intended to measure the subjects pre-existing ability inspeaking. The
main purpose was to figure out the pre-existing speaking ability of the subject under
study. The result of IR used as starting points the undertaking action research.
 3.3.1 Planning (P)
Planning is a part of the process of steps in the action, and instruments that
are used for collecting data. Based on the problem faced by the subjects, the
researcher should focus on improving reading comprehension. The students in VIII
class of SMP N 3 Ubud had low ability in speaking performance; as a result, the plan
was focused on improving their speaking skill by applying role-play technique. The
researcher designed a lesson plan coming to the classroom based on the syllabus.
The research carried out instructional planning for all the session. In order to achieve
the objective of the present classroom action study, this present study plan the
instruction activities follows:
1. The research had prepared two kinds of tests which would be administered to the
subjects under study. Those are pre-test and post-test.
2. There are some teaching scenarios which to developed in executing the technique.
The researcher had designed and planed four lessons plans for four meetings (two
cycles).
3. Seeking and preparing a series of teaching material that could solve the problem
faced by eighth grade students of SMP Negeri 3 Ubud.
4. Constructing and administrating reflection or post-test at the end of each cycle
based on the topic which is being taught at the time. The post-test was used to
measure extend of subjects’ progress in speaking performance.
5. Constructing questionnaire for the subjects the end of the last cycle. The
questionnaire was written in Bahasa Indonesia. The researcher administered
questionnaire which was actually intended to measure the subjects’ response on
the implementation of role-play technique in speaking performance.
3.3.3 Action (A)
The action become the main part of this study. In action, the researcher
which became a teacher in the class gave a treatment for the students to practicing
the role-play technique to improve their ability in speaking performance. This part
is the implementation previously of planned teaching in the classroom. The action
were class field into three main steps, such as: pre-activities. Whilst-activities and
post-activities.
In pre-activities, the teaching learning process begins by greeting and checking the
students’ attendance. Then, the teacher asks questions about the materials which have
already been studied and relates the previous materials with the next materials. Then,
the teachers delivers the outline of the materials and explains about the activity which
is going to be conducted. Besides, the teacher also explains the indicators of
competency achievement which is going to be achieved in the learning process. The
aim is to make the students focus and pay attentions to the subject they had learned.
This pre-activities were about 10 minutes for each session.
In whilst-activities, the researcher carries out main process of teaching
reading by applying RAP strategy. The study consisted of five phases; observing,
questioning, exploring, associating, and communicating. In observing, the teacher asks
students to observe and determine the things they are curious about the material. The
researcher also give the topic to be discuses and explain. In questioning, the researcher
stimulate the subjects to ask some questions related to the material have learn. Then,
the researcher answer their questions. In exploring and associating, the research
deliver the role play technique. . This activity was for about 60 minutes for each
sessions.
The post-activity became the last stage of teaching and learning process. In this stage,
the teaching of speaking skill using role-play technique ended. The researcher and the
subjects conclude the material. In this session, the researcher summarizes the learning
material has already been discussed. Then, the students identify obstacles which are
faced during the teaching learning process (reflection). Besides, the researcher gives
feedback and reinforcement to the students’ statements about their obstacles in
understanding the material. In this stage, also the researcher gives motivation to
subjects to improve their reading comprehension and ask the students to do post-test to
measure the improvement of their reading comprehension. The post-activities in each
session are plan about 10 minutes. In the last cycle, the researcher ask the students to
fill the questionnaire in google form to support the research findings. Then, ended the
class by saying good-bye.
3.3.4 Observation (O)
In Classroom Action Research, the researcher behaved as a classroom
teacher as well as an observer. The classroom observation was done during the
teaching and learning process.
The observation was conducted to identify the effectiveness of the RAP Strategy,
and also to discover whether the strategy was able to improve the reading
comprehension. There are two kinds of observation were done here. First, the
researcher observed the students; attitude toward the teaching learning process and
finding out the progress of the students, especially those who still have problem in
reading English. Second, the researcher was make use of questionnaires to measure
the responses of the subjects’ toward the application of the RAP strategy. The
researcher collected the results of the students’ progress and responses by using
research instrument.
3.3.5 Reflection (R)
 At this point, the researcher evaluated and described the effects of the action
in order to make sense of what happened, and to understand the issue that had
explored more clearly and the problem that could be solved. The reflection was a
significant component of self-study and action research as it was a powerful way to
know about the self in research and practice as well as to unpack the very. The
reflection administrated during post activities of the session. The reflection gave by
the end of each session as the planning. Then researcher also collected what made
this researcher did not reach the target then prepared what to do in further cycle.
3.4 Research Instrument
The research used an observation sheet, interview guidelines, questionnaire
data and students scoring rubrics of speaking as the instruments of the data
collection. The validity and reliability of the instruments must be of serious
concern/must be carefully considered because the instrument must be appropriate for
and in accordance with the student’s grade level and ability. The study dealt with
research question “can the speaking skill of the eighth-grade students of SMP N 3
Ubud in academic year 2023/2024 be improved through the Role-play technique?”
The researchers used four kinds of research instrument
1. Class Observation
Class Observation was done to monitor the teaching and learning process in
the class. During the observation, the researcher collected the data by observing the
class situation. During class observation, an observer typically takes notes and
records data on various aspects of the classroom environment, such as the behavior
of students and teachers, the use of instructional materials, and the level of student
engagement. It was recorded in the form
of observation checklist, field notes and photographs. The observation checklist was
used to obtain information about implementation of the planning and the procedures
of the actions. It was also be used to gather data about the students’ activity during
the teaching and learning process. In addition, field notes were used to record facts
which cannot be put in the observation forms. The photograph was used to record
facts in a picture.
2. Interview
Interview was used to know the effectiveness of the actions. In this research, the
researcher interviewed the English teacher and the students in eighth grade class about
comprehensive information related to the teaching and learning speaking process
through role play. In this case, the data gathering activity was for knowing about the
students’ feeling during the class activity. The results of the interview were recorded
in the form of interview transcripts.
3. Questionnaire
The questionnaire used to let the students express their opinion about the
learning process that has been followed. The questionnaire was conducted in order to
acquire responses toward learning English specially to know this judgment or interest
during teaching and learning process in speaking skill by using role-play technique.
The questionnaire was given to the participants. It was a closed questionnaire. The
questionnaire consists of 20 questions. The questions were related to the students’
response in speaking before and after implementing role play. The questionnaire was
given after implementing the action. The theory which is used in the blue print of the
following questionnaire covering the theories that contained in Chapter II.
4. Test
The test used in the present study were in the form of pre-test and post- test
strategy. In pre-test was used to measure their ability in speaking before teaching and
learning process. The purpose of the pre-test to know about the basic ability of the
students in speaking skill.
Post-test was used to examine the improvement of the lesson plan that was
taken in improving the students’ understanding and learning in speaking skill. In post-
test, teacher asked students to practicing the role-play technique. The purposes of
post-test was to measure the effectiveness of the role-play technique that applied.
Both of these tests were designed in the form of short answer tasks which
consisted of 20 questions. At last, the researcher conducted two post-tests to measure
the development of the students’ speaking skill after implementing the action, in the
last of first cycle and second cycle. A pre-test and post-tests were used to know and to
measure the students’ speaking skill.
 3.5 Data Collection
The primary and supporting data techniques were used by the researcher to get
the data. The supporting data were taken from field notes and documentation, while
the major data were taken from the test itself. Speaking assessment tests were used to
gather the main information regarding the students' speaking proficiency. By
employing role plays, it was possible to compare the students' speaking proficiency
before and after the learning process. There were three kinds of instruments that the
researcher has used to gather the data of this present classroom action study, pre-test,
post-test, and questionnaire. The data require for the present classroom study was
going through some process of collecting data and measuring the students’ speaking
skill. To the collected the data, there ware be tests (pre-test and post-test) and
questionnaire as instruments. The pre-test had been given before teaching is carried
out; the post-test was given at the end of each cycle and the questionnaire were
administered at the end of the last cycle.
The pre-test conducted before the teaching learning process carried out. The
purpose of pre-test was to know the subjects prior knowledge and their pre-existing
ability in speaking performance. The post-test conducted in the end of each cycle.
The result of post-test used as comparison to the pre-test. The questionnaire used to
figure out the subjects’ responses or opinion after taught speaking performance in the
classroom. Therefore, there were considerably three kinds of data for the present
classroom action research that were described as follows:
1. Data indicating the subjects’ pre-existing speaking skill
2. Data showing the subjects’ progressing achievement in speaking
performance and
3. Data showing the subjects’ responses on the implementation of role-
paly in speaking performance.
3.6 Data Analysis
` The researcher obtained some kinds of data observation in order to find
out the result of her research. The first obtained from pre-test and post-test. The
second obtained from the questionnaire. The data is pre-test and post-tests were
analyzed by using mean score formula. The mean score was the total score was
the total scores divided by the total number of the subjects under study; the
formula could
be drawn as follows:
 
Formula: M 
𝑁

Information:
M = Mean of score test
 = Total score

N = Number of samples

The second is questionnaire were descriptively analyzed in which the

percentage was the total responses of an item divided by the total responses of
all items. Moreover, it was timed hundred percent as the following percentage of
an item:

𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑛 𝑖𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑚

Percentages = 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑖𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑠 X 100%

In this part, the researcher hand analyzed the students’ score in speaking.
Moreover the researcher used the KKM that had been made by school. All of the
data were gathered by the observation checklist, field notes and interview transcripts.
While the data obtained from the tests (pre-test and post-test) and the 47
questionnaire data were analyzed quantitatively. The steps of the data analysis
included collecting the data, comparing and cross checking the data from the
observation checklist, interview transcript, field notes and students’ tests. The pre-
test was done for knowing the students’ speaking skill before using role play. Then,
the post-test were done twice, in the last meeting of Cycle 1 and in the last meeting
of Cycle 2. The researcher was comparing the results of pre-test and post-test 1, if
there were improvements from the pre-test to post-test 1, it indicated that the actions
has been succeeded.
After that, the second post-test was done for strengthening the result of
improvements in the first cycle. When in the result of the post-test 2 was higher than
the pre-test, it indicated that the improvements of the students speaking skill in the
Cycle 1 were not coincidental results. However, when in post-test 2 there were not
improvements, it indicated that there was any hesitancy of the result in Cycle 1.

3.7 Success Indicator

The following are the success indicator for this study: If student achievement
increased from cycle one to cycle two. Whether the results of the students' research
were more comprehensive from cycle I to cycle II. Classroom Action Research was
successful if all subjects’ passed the minimum passing grade. It meant that all
students in VIII class of SMP N 3 Ubud In Academic Year 2023/2024. The study
will be called success to use Role-play to improve students speaking skill research is
considered to be successful if 80% the subject under study achieved the minimum
criteria of speaking performance. In the present study, the students of VIII B class
were 32, 20 out of 32 subjects under study should achieve the minimum passing
grade of SMP N 3 Ubud.

References
Adawiyah, R. (2013). Improving Students' Speaking Ability Through Scripted Role
Play At SMPN 3 Ngaglik Grade Viii In The Academic Year Of 2012/2013.
S1 Thesis
Best, J. W. (1997). Research in education. New Jersey: Printice Hall. Inc.
Brown, H. D. (2001). Teaching by principles: an interactive approach to language
pedagogy 2nd. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Inc.
Byrne, D. (1986). Teaching oral English: Handbook for English Teacher. Singapore:
Longman Group
Cook, V. (2001).Second Language Learning and Language Teaching (Third
Edition). Arnold Publications.
Harmer, Jeremy. 1998. How to Teach English. England: Longman
Harmer, J. 2001. How to Teach English: An Introduction to the Practice of English
Language Teaching. Essex: Longman
Huang, Irene, Y. 2008. Role Play for ESL/EFL Children in the English Classroom,
http://www.iteslj.org/Techniques/Huang_RolePlay.html. Accessed on
September 9th, 2013.
Jaina, M. F., & Siradjuddin, S. (2022). Improving Students’ Speaking Skill by Using
Scripted Role Play at Class XI MIPA-2 Students of SMA Negeri 12
Makassar. EDULEC: EDUCATION, LANGUAGE AND CULTURE
JOURNAL, 2(1), 55-66.
Juvrianto, C. (2018). Improving the students’ speaking ability through role play
method. Indonesian Journal of English Teaching, 7(1), 87-97.
Koshy, V. (2005). Action Research for Improving Practice: A Practical Guide. Great
Britain: TJ International Ltd
Pollard, L. (2008). Teaching English: A book to help you throughyour first two years
in teaching.
Phillips, D.A.,& Carr, K. (2010). Becoming A Teacher Through Action Research.
Manorom, Dr.K, Zoe Pollock. 2006. Role Play As A Teaching Method: A Practical
Guide,http://www.academia.edu/4035694/26109576_Role_Play_As_A_Tea
ching_Me thod_A_PracticalGuide.html. Accessed on September 9th, 2013.
Mills, G.E. (2003). Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher. (2nd
Edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education
Nunan, D. (1992). Research methods in language learning. New York: Cambridge
University Press.
Phillips, D.A.,& Carr, K. (2010). Becoming A Teacher Through Action Research.
New York: Taylor & Francis.
Richards, J and W. Renandya. 2002. Methodology in Language Teaching.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Sasabone, L., & Jubhari, Y. (2021). The Implementation of English for Specific
Purposes (ESP) in Improving Students Speaking Skill of UKI Paulus
Makassar. Edulec: Education, Language And Culture Journal, 1(1), 1-8
Thornbury, S. 2005. How to Teach Speaking, Essex: Pearson Educational Limited