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students were very weak in writing skills. Thats why I was focusing to make
constructing simple sentences correctly as my research objective.
Writing simple sentences is considered as the basic in writing
paragraph. Every paragraph or text must consist of simple sentences.
Simple sentence is the foundation in writing skills. This was a very disturbing
issue if the students cannot cope to way of writing sentences with correct
form. As simple as writing, there are rules to follow in writing English
sentences. Here I am to assist and guide them in writing good and correct
simple sentence. I hope that they can learn better from me.
such as reading. They might think that picture play a small role in writing
sentences. This can be proved by study made by Piro (2002), where the
strategy of reading a picture, either part by part or as a text, with other
curricular areas, may be known, but underused by many teachers (p. 127).
This strategy is good in writing skills. It is quite regrettable to know picture is
not used in dictation. Clyne & Griffin (1999) mention that they used images in
teaching in order to break away from traditional method of teaching. Picture
may contain unspoken words that maybe some teacher forgets to talk about
it. Hence, as a teacher I think I have to use these images in teaching
students to grasp the idea of writing simple sentences. If they can score in
writing simple sentence I believe that they can write in other difficult areas of
writing sentences. Other area that I want to tell is writing compound and
complex sentences. In some way, it is useful to use picture dictation to
enhance students capability in writing simple sentences.
Therefore, picture dictation technique can be utilize to help students
write sentence correctly if correct measure is being taken to assist them in
writing simple sentence. The picture helps the dictation process for them to
write words with correct grammatical structure and punctuation.
11
12
learning level. They were taken from year 3 in that particular school. Their
proficiency level were not so good but had quite some interest in learning the
English subject. The reason of selecting only ten pupils as my research
participants was mainly due to the pupils ability itself.
During this time I asked pupils to do the Round Robin activity.
They were going to do chain-story action from one pupil to
another. However, the objective of this teaching was a failure
since not all pupils were able to continue the story using their
own words. Further action was needed such as teacher had to
prepare a template for pupils to make the story interesting.
One good example recommended was to introduce word cards
that were useful in this session.
(Journal Entry 18, 19th September 2013)
Pupils were unable to do the Round Robin activity due to lack in
speaking skill. From there I was thinking that if they were unable to do the
speaking how about their writing skill? Fair enough for me to say that they
were quite having problems in that area.
Pupils seemed to having problem in English when I asked for a
simple thing such as an introductory writing about my pupils.
They were unable to write in one short paragraph describing
about them.
(Journal Entry 8, 22nd July 2013)
From there I chose the preferable pupils who yield the best result and had
the equal ability in cognitive thinking. I wanted to get a fair and just result in
order for my future studies. Therefore, ten pupils were chosen for purposive
sampling.
13
14
15
The teacher read the word and then the students dictate and write what the
teacher had said (Colle, 2012).
The sentences were limited to simple sentences as it matched their
cognitive level of thinking. As mentioned earlier, grammar skill was only
begin to be taught during year 3 in KSSR syllabus. It was quite importance
for a teacher to remember reading the word carefully. By all means, read it
clearly one after another so that students have the luxury to write sentences
properly. If possible, use familiar words that students might already
encounter up to their level. Dictation was probably taking longer times as
teacher needs to read not only once but few times. This was due to the fact
that pupils should heard every bit of words clearly without any interferences
whether from inside or outside the classroom.
The outcome of this test will be collected to compare the date
collected from the other test. In contrast, during post test I will introduce the
insertion of picture dictation to enhance their capabilities in writing simple
sentences. Images help the learners to construct meaning by interacting
with the text (Pearson, 1990 in Cooper & Kiger, 2003 p.279). With the help
of the pictures I strongly believe it will help students to write better. With both
senses of sight and hearing involve, it will trigger ideas for students to
confidently write simple sentences. They will know what to write and how to
write it using the notion of correctness of sentence structure. The intended
question will be the same but with the help of pictures it can elevate their
writing process to a higher level. To make the test more reliable, there will be
16
a two weeks gap from one test to another. This can eliminate the possibility
of students in guessing the sentence rather than thinking the answer.
17
18
references to word that were contained in the sentences (appendix 4.2). The
stages and the flow of the lesson was the same except for the post-reading
activity. This was done in order to prevent inconsistency in pupils answers.
Same setting and the same subtopic were maintained. The same thing that I
taught was consistent because I did not want to change the variables. If I am
teaching the same thing, then I can say that the result will be quite
supportive and reliable. This was because I did it on the same pupils but
different period.
Based from these two results I can say that my findings were quite
good. They were some variables in the results. I am sure that my research
was effective up to certain extent. I also believed that they were some
setbacks in my research. From what can sense, pupils were quite motivated
to cooperate during the post-test activity . It can be seen when they did the job
smoothly due to certain reason.
These findings were detected when I look at the answer. The works of
pupils seemed to be better compared to the first test which was pre-test.
Other than that, when I further asked them which technique they prefer, they
stated the picture dictation was better to assist them in writing sentences
19
In the below table 4.0, it summarizes the steps that will be taken in
the implementation of the action.
Table 4.0 Action Research Schedule
NO
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
ACTIVITY
Choosing the proposal topic and research instruments.
Drafting for the first proposal
Seek the supervisor to ask about the chosen topic.
Seek the English teacher to identify pupils
Prepare lesson plan for dictation technique
Conducting the first lesson for dictation technique
Conducting pre-test activity
Prepare lesson plan for picture dictation technique
Conducting the second lesson using picture dictation
technique
Conducting the post-test activity
Conducting interview with the respondents
Analyse the data
Prepare reports
Make proper changes to the report
Discuss with supervisor and updating the report
Submit the report
DATE
6 January 2014
7-18th January 2014
12th February 2014
10th March 2014
20th March 2014
31st March 2014
31st March 2014
3rd April 2014
8th April 2014
th
The estimate for the cost of the study can be seen in Appendix 7.
20
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
60
30
40
20
50
40
20
0
30
80
60
70
30
50
70
20
40
0
30
60
Mean
37
43
Based on the table 5.0, mean marks for pre-test was 37%. Only one
pupil failed to write any answer correctly. Furthermore, the highest mark
obtained was 80%. The lowest mark other than 0% was 20% (refer to
appendix 8). Two pupils obtained that result. From the result, I came to a
conclusion that most pupils were unable to write the simple sentences
correctly.
In the meantime, post-test results showed significantly higher mean
marks the total of 43%. Again, one pupil unable to manage writing even one
sentence correctly. It was the same pupil from the previous result. It can be
said; from the result pupils were able to improve significantly higher result.
21
Higher marks showed pupils were quite able to write better using picture
dictation technique compared to traditional dictation technique.
A further in-depth analysis was prepared to compare pupils
achievement for both pre and post-test. Both Table 6.0 and Figure 5.0
showed the achievement analysis for both pre and post test which were
categorized under excellent (grade A), good (Grade B), distinction (Grade
C), satisfactory (Grade D) and lastly weak (Grade E).
(80% - 100%)
(60% - 79%)
(40% - 59%)
(20% - 39%)
(0% - 19%)
PRE-TEST
NO
%
1
10
1
10
3
30
4
40
1
10
POST-TEST
NO
%
0
0
4
40
2
20
3
30
1
10
22
Figure 5.0 Pupils achievement in pre and post test using grade scale.
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
23
0 Weak
Satisfactory
Good
Excellent
According to both Table 6.0 and Figure 5.0, pupils were considered
passed if their results obtained in category excellent, good and distinction.
However, they failed the test if their results were under band satisfactory and
weak. As you can see, five pupils failed pre-test as they were under both
weak and satisfactory band. Hence, failure percentage was 50%. Therefore,
50% pupils passed the test. In the meantime, post-test showed slight
increase in the number of pupils who passed the test. 6 pupils passed;
therefore passing percentage was 60%. The other pupils were either
satisfactory or weak level.
From the above figure and tables the number of pupils who managed
to write sentences correctly had slightly increased. Hence, I came to a
conclusion that the effectiveness of using picture dictation had limitations.
Table 6.1 below showed among the common mistakes made by pupils
during post-test. It was done to show some limitations in using picture
dictation to write simple sentences.
Table 6.1 Errors in post-test activity
No
Figure
Description
This pupil cannot
write the word
here
correctly
because he wrote
it
hear.
This
condition
called
homophones.
Homophones
are
24
No
Figure
Description
words that have
exactly the same
sound but different
spelling (Rowe &
Lewine ,2009).
25
No
Figure
Description
When I went deeper into the test paper, there were tendencies for
pupils to write the sentences properly. However they cannot write it correctly
due to limitation in writing certain words correctly.
Moreover, I also identified that there was also some contributing
factor that lead to pupils error. The teacher which was me had some
difficulty to hear my intonation when I dictate the sentences. They rectified it
after the post-test activity.
26
27
28
Therefore, it can be concluded that picture dictation did help to find a way to
attract pupils attention to write sentences better.
The findings of this research also was supported by the observation
made by both of my friends and I. In the excerpt that I jotted during my
personal observation to my teaching (appendix 6) there was some parallel in
the results from one instrument to another. It stated that there were some
slight changes from one aspect to another. After intervention process, pupils
seemed to gain quite a big reinforcement to write sentences. This was
because the usage of pictures greatly helps in shaping their behaviour to
write sentences.
At the same time, I asked for the presence of one fellow colleague
when I was teaching. The purpose for his presence was to take down notes
regarding my teaching. The main idea for his notes mainly circulate around
changes in pupils mood, the shift in learning atmosphere and body posture
of the pupils (appendix 7). Based from the excerpt what I can deduce was
my learning strategy of using picture dictation able to shift those three
changes. As mentioned earlier, pupils mood were in good condition. To
support that point, he wrote there were some shifting in classroom air
atmosphere. The air seems to be pupils friendly in order for learning. Their
body postures tell it all. Hence, picture dictation did arouse the pupils
motivation to learn writing simple sentences better.
29
30
ensure the validity and the reliability was up to the maximum. This was one
factor that I taught need to be overcome with.
Other than that, I also identified one other problem to do this
technique. One contributing factor that leads to the success of this technique
was the surrounding. At pre-test I did it early morning where pupils just
entered the classroom from the weekly assembly. They needed to arrange
chairs and tables. After that, they needed to clean up the classroom. It took
quite some time and in the end they quite exhausted.
Pupils motivation seemed to decrease quite a bit after they
entered the classroom. Movement from in and out of the
classroom disrupt me as a teacher. Some announcement and
their class teacher checking the attendance made the pupils
fatigue.
(Journal entry 3, 12th February 2013)
This obstacles lead to fatigue and their learning was disrupted. As a result,
they give less cooperation during pre-test.
A week later, I conducted the post-test at second period, right before
recess. To improve their learning I promise them 5 minutes early break if
they gave full cooperation. As a result, their motivation increases as reward
was promised that meet their desire. Based from the above points, I can say
that the external environment played quite a small role for the results to be
positive.
31
32
minimize this external factor so that my result yields higher reliability and
validity.
10.0 Conclusion
This action research had showed to me that the use of picture
dictation in improve pupils writing simple sentences had limitations. The
increase in number of pupils able to write the answer was not consistent.
There was some inconsistency in pupils answer.
References
Assunta B. A. A. (2007). Writing with images: A Case Study of Low English
Proficiency Students. Unpublish Thesis, University of Malaya.
Brown, Henry D. (2002). Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. 4th
ed. New York: Longman.
Chitravelu N, Sithamparam S, Choon T.S. (2007). ELT Methodology
Principles and Practice.2nd Edition.Oxford Fajar Sdn. Bhd.
Griffin. M.C.R. (1999). See Your Way to Literacy, Classroom, 7, 15-18.
Harmer J. (2007).The Practice of English Language Teaching.Fourth
33
Retrieved
on
20th
April
2014
from
http://www.edanzediting.com/blog/writing_academic_english_non_nat
ive_speaker%E2%80%99s_experience#.VAxPP6M0qho.
Ministry of Education. (2012). Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah
{Standard-based Curriculum}. Bahagian Pembangunan Kurikulum.
Putrajaya.
34
35
Appendix 1
LESSON PLAN
Subject
Class
Enrolment
Time
Date
Level
Theme
Topic
Focused skill
Integrated skill
: English
: Year 3 Delima
: 31 pupils
: 7.40 am 8.40 am
: 31st March 2014
: Low
: World of Knowledge
: From the Sea (Unit 7)
: Reading
: Writing
Content standard
Learning standard
36
construct meaning.
3.1 By the end of the 6-year primary schooling,
pupils will be able to form letters and words in
neat legible print including cursive writing.
Learning objectives
Educational emphases
: Thinking skills
Moral value
Language content
Previous Knowledge
: Adjectives.
Anticipated Problem
complete
Possible Solution
the task.
Teaching resources
card,
Appendix 1
Stage/Time
Set
induction
5 minutes
Content
Question
s
- What
are
your
favourit
e sea
creatur
es?
Rationale
To arouse
students
attention.
To get
students to
sit and settle
themselves.
To introduce
the topic to
Remarks
Hangme
n games
A4
picture
cards.
37
Why do
you like
sea
creatur
es?
the pupils.
3. Pupils respond to
the
pictures to talk
about the sea
creatures.
4. Teacher plays
Hangmen games to
spell the sea
creatures.
5. Teacher introduces
the topic Sea
Creatures.
PreReading
10 minutes
New
vocabulary
- Stingray
- Jellyfish
- Clownfi
sh
1. Teacher shows
some
words to pupils.
2. Teacher explains
new
words to pupils.
3. Teacher asks few
pupils
to read the
meaning of
few words.
WhileReading
25 minutes
1. In groups of 6
people per group,
pupils read the text
silently.
2. Teacher read and
pupils follow the text
with correct
intonation.
3. Teacher distributes
different text to each
group.
4. Pupils need to read
and find information
from the text given.
5. Teacher instructs
pupils to exchange
the text with other
groups until all
groups have all 5
different texts.
6. Pupils discuss the
text with their
Describin
g sea
creatures
.
To
understand
the short
paragraph.
To enrich
vocabulary
list
To practice
scanning
and
scheming
skills.
Mahjong
paper
Manila
card
Reading
text
Mahjong
paper
A4
pictures
38
PostReading
15 minutes
Sentence
building
(simple
sentence
s)
There
was a big
flash.
Your car
had a
crash.
Look in
your
book.
Closure
5 minutes
Moral
value:
Love for
the
environm
ent
friends.
7. Teacher guides the
pupils on how to find
the answers from
the text.
8. Pupils fill up the
mahjong paper to
describe the sea
creatures.
1. Few pupils are
selected to do the
sentences.
2. This activity is to
test pupils ability in
writing simple
sentences.
3. The others were
required to do also
but only selected
answers are chosen
for further analysis.
To promote
critical and
creative
thinking skills
among
pupils.
To test
pupils
listening and
writing skills.
A4
papers.
To
consolidate
what they
have learnt
To instill
moral values
within the
pupils.
39
Appendix 2
LESSON PLAN
Subject
Class
Enrolment
Time
Date
Level
Theme
Topic
Focused skill
Integrated skill
Content standard
: English
: Year 3 Delima
: 31 pupils
: 8.40 am 9.40 am
: 8th April 2014
: Low
: World of Knowledge
: From the Sea (Unit 7)
: Reading
: Writing
Learning standard
40
Learning objectives
Educational emphases
: Thinking skills
Moral value
Language content
Previous Knowledge
: Adjectives.
Anticipated Problem
complete
Possible Solution
the task.
Teaching resources
card,
Stage/Time
Set
induction
5 minutes
Content
Questions
What are
your
Teaching &
Learning activities
6. Teacher shows
some pictures
about sea
Rationale
To arouse
students
Remarks
Hangmen
games
41
favourite
sea
creatures
?
Why do
you like
sea
creatures
?
creatures to
relate the topic
for today.
7. Teacher elicits
response
through
questioning
pupils orally.
8. Pupils respond to
the
pictures to talk
about the sea
creatures.
9. Teacher plays
Hangmen games
to spell the sea
creatures.
10. Teacher
introduces the
topic Sea
Creatures.
PreReading
10 minutes
New
vocabulary
- Blue
whale
- Coral
- Dolphin
- Eel
- Crab
1. Teacher shows
some
words to pupils.
2. Teacher
explains new
words to pupils.
3. Teacher asks
few pupils
to read the
meaning of
few words.
WhileReading
25 minutes
9. In groups of 6
people per group,
pupils read the
text silently.
10. Teacher read and
pupils follow the
text with correct
intonation.
11. Teacher
distributes
different text to
each group.
12. Pupils need to
Describing
sea
creatures.
attention.
To get
students
to sit and
settle
themselve
s.
To
introduce
the topic
to the
pupils.
A4 picture
cards.
To
understan
d the
short
paragraph
.
Mahjong
paper
Manila card
To enrich
vocabular
y list
To
practice
scanning
and
scheming
skills.
Reading
text
Mahjong
paper
A4 pictures
42
PostReading
15 minutes
Sentence
building
(simple
sentences)
They are
on the ship
There are
some
crabs.
His boots
are here.
Closure
5 minutes
Moral
value:
Love for
the
environme
nt
3. Teacher recaps
the day lesson by
asking pupils
about the lesson.
4. Teacher
summarises the
lesson by
recalling the sea
creatures they
To
promote
critical
and
creative
thinking
skills
among
pupils.
To test
pupils
listening
and
writing
skills.
To
consolidat
e what
they have
learnt
To instill
moral
values
within the
A4 papers.
43
pupils.
Appendix 3.1
Pre-Test Sentences
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
Appendix 3.2
45
Appendix 4.1
46
Post-Test Sentences
1) There are some crabs.
2) You must chop them up.
3) His boots are here.
4) Are they all in the hut?
5) Your cat bit me?
6) Some jobs are hard.
7) Your dish is hot.
8) They are on the ship.
9) Here is some string.
10)Your cat jumps on the mat.
Appendix 4.2
Name: _____________________________
Date:_______________
(1)
47
_______________________________________________________
(2)
_______________________________________________________
(3)
_______________________________________________________
(4)
_______________________________________________________
Appendix 4.2
(5)
_______________________________________________________
(6)
_______________________________________________________
48
(7)
_______________________________________________________
(8)
_______________________________________________________
(9)
_______________________________________________________
Appendix 4.2
(10)
_________________________________________________________
49
Appendix 5
classroom.
During intervention, some pupils were not in the mood of learning.
However, after I take out big and attractive pictures that I printed
earlier, they immediately took part in the learning process.
50
Appendix 6
51
Appendix 7
Material
Total
Price per
Unit
1.
RM 10.00
2.
RM 1.00
Interview form
Total
RM1.00
RM0.10
10
10
RM
11.00
52