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CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter discusses about speaking skill, how to teach speaking,

definition of role play, types and procedure in using role play, components of
speaking skill, and significance of role play in teaching speaking.

2.1 Speaking Skill

The terms ‘speaking’, according to Brown (2001:267), is an interactive
process of constructing meaning that involves producing and receiving and
processing information. Its form and meaning depend on the context in which it
occurs.
Richard (in Nunan, 1992) provides characteristics of communicative
competence including: a) knowledge of grammar and vocabulary of the language,
b) knowledge of rule of speaking e.g., knowing how to begin and end
conversation, knowing what topics that can be talked about in different types of
speech events, knowing which address forms should be used with different
persons one speak to and in different situations, c) knowledge of how to use and
respond to different types of speech acts such as request, apologies, thanks, and
invitation, and d) knowledge of how to use language appropriately.
Spoken language is the most familiar form of language that is used by
members of society in order to build relation. As a means of communication,
spoken language fundamentally occurs within a context. In some social contexts,
spoken language is used as the dominant form of communication (Burns and
Joyce, 1997:13). In addition, they state that even in other contexts where written
language is given ‘more status,’ such as in educational context, spoken language
is still needed.
Mastering the spoken language is not merely mastering its articulation and
forms. The ultimate aim of mastery of spoken language is to communicate. This
means that mastery of rule of speaking and conversational skill is needed. In other

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words, the students must be able to use English for either interactional or
transactional purposes. Therefore, the students must be taught about the
acceptable expression of language functions and formulaic expressions when
opening, responding, and terminating a conversation. For this reason, the English
teacher needs to use teaching method which the students can be involved in the
active communication.

2.2 How to Teach Speaking

When teaching young learners, we constantly have to keep in mind the fact
that what we have in front of us is a mixed class with varied abilities,
expectations, motivation level, knowledge and last but not least, different learning
styles. Thus, we need to vary our approaches and offer as much opportunity as
possible to make the whole class find a little something to hold on to, expand and
grow. Thus, clear and correct pronunciations are very important since young
learners repeat exactly what they hear. What has been learned at an early stage is
difficult to change later on. One rule that applied here is slow and steady through
constant revision and recycling. By using of mixed activities, such as dialogues,
choral revision, chants, songs, poems and rhymes, students speaking abilities will
grow, their pronunciation gets better and their awareness of the language
improves. When applying the above-mentioned tools into the teaching practice,
what should be kept in mind is that interaction is an important way of learning.
Therefore, increasing oral emphasis should be included in our teaching to
give the students as much spoken time as possible. Now many linguists and
English as foreign language (EFL) teachers agree on that students learn to speak
in the foreign language by "interacting". Communicative language teaching and
collaborative learning serve best for this aim. Communicative language teaching
is based on the real life situations that require communication. By using this
method in EFL classes, students will have the opportunity of communicating with
each other in the target language. In brief, EFL teachers should create a classroom
environment where students have real-life communication, authentic activities,
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and meaningful tasks that promote oral language. It can occur when students
collaborate in group to achieve a goal or to complete a task.

2.3 Role Play

In Cambridge Dictionary Press, role defined as the person whom an actor
represents in a film or play, while role play is a method of acting out particular
ways of behaving or pretending to be other people who deal with new situations.
It is used in training courses language learning and psychotherapy. In this case,
Ladousse (1995:5), illustrates when students assume a ‘Role’, they play a part
(either their own or somebody else’s) in specific situation. ‘Play’, means that is
taken on in a safe environment in which students are as an inventive and playful
as possible. According to Crookal (1990:3), there is a little consensus on the terms
used in the role playing and simulation literature. A few of the terms often used
interchangeably are, simulation, games, role play, simulation game, role play
simulation, and role playing game. It seems to be some agreement; however,
simulation is a broader concept than role playing. Simulations are complex
lengthy and relatively inflexible events. Role play, on the other hand, can be a
quite simple and brief method to organize. It is also highly flexible, leaving much
more scope is the exercise of individual variation, initiative and imagination. And
role play also included in simulation as well.
In defining role play, Byrne (1986:115) gives comments that role play is a
part of drama activity. In details, he describes that there are three terms to cover
the drama activities. They are mime (mimicry-memorization), role play and
simulation. He distinguished the terms as follows:
a. Mime, the participants perform actions without using words (although as we
shall see, this activity leads naturally on to talk).
b. Role play, the participant interact either as themselves in imaginary
situations.
c. Simulation, it involves role play as defined above. However, for this activity
the participants normally discuss a problem of some kind with some setting
that has been defined for them.
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Both role play and simulation are commonly used in foreign language
classes to facilitate communicative competence. Whereas mime seems more
appropriate as a language game. It is performing actions without using words. For
instance, if someone mimes and action, the others try to guess what it is.
Functional language for a multitude of scenarios can be activated and
practiced through role play in imaginary situations. 'At the restaurant', 'Checking
in at the airport', 'Looking for lost property' are all possible role play.
From those explanation above, the writer views that role play is a
technique which involves fantasy or imagination to be someone else or to be
ourselves in a specific situation for a while, improve dialogue and create a real
world in scenario. It aims at the students to encourage thinking and creativity,
students develop and practice new language and behavioral skills in a relatively
non-threatening setting, and can create the motivation and involvement necessary
for learning to occur.

2.4 Type and Procedures in Using Role Play

In view of the persons taking an actor, Laduosse (1995:13) explained that
there are several types of role. The first is the roles which correspond to a real
need in the students’ lives. In this category, it involves such roles as doctors
dealing with patients, or salesman traveling abroad. The second type of role is the
students play themselves in a variety of situations which may or may not have
direct experience. The example which include in this category is a customer
complaining or a passenger asking for information. The third type is the type that
few students will ever experience directly themselves, but it is easy to play
because the teachers have such vast indirect experience of them. The television
journalist is a good example of this type and it is very useful kind of role taken
from real life. The last type is fantasy roles, which are fictitious, imaginary, and
possible even absurd. In case of role play activities, role play can be grouped into
two forms, scripted and unscripted role play. In details, those types of role play
activities described as follows:
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2.4.1 Scripted Role Play

This type involves interpreting either the textbook dialogue or reading text
in the form of speech. The main function of the text after all is to convey the
meaning of language items in a memorably way. For more details, Doff (1988:
233) gave an example of scripted role play dialogue and reading text and how the
process is:
Angela : Good morning. I want to send a letter to Singapore.
Clerk : Yes, do you want to send it by air mail or ordinary mail?
Angela : I think I’ll send it air mail. I want it to get there quickly.
How much does
it cost?
Clerk : To Singapore? That will be 30 dollars, please.
Angela : (give the clerk 50 dollars) Here you are.
Clerk : Here’s your stamp, and here’s 20 dollars change.
Angela : Thank you. Where is the post box?
Clerk : You want the air mail box. It’s over there, by the door.
(Adopted from living English book 2 : A.G. Abdalla et al)
To demonstrate a role play activity based on the dialogue, the procedures
given by Adrian Doff is as follows:
1) First, the teacher guides the role play by writing these prompts (where? / air
mail / how much? / post box? / thanks). Talk as you write to show what the
prompts mean.
2) If necessary, go through the prompts one by one, and get students to give
sentences or question for each one.
3) Call two students to the front: one play the role as Angela and the other one is
the post office clerk. They should improvise the conversation using the
prompts to help them. Point out that the conversation should be similar to the
one in the textbook, but not exactly the same; the conversation can be shorter
than the presentation dialogue. It should just cover the main points indicated by
the prompts.
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4) Call out a few other pairs of students in turn, and ask them to have other
conversation based on the prompts.
Based on these procedures, the writer views that the ways of organizing
this dialogue can be carried out into pairs of students who would improvise a
conversation in front of class, in turns. The teacher can also ask the students to
practice the conversation privately with their partners before they act it out in
front of the class.

2.4.2 Unscripted Role Play

In contrast to scripted role play, the situations of unscripted role play do
not depend on textbooks. It is known as a free role play or improvisation. The
students themselves have to decide what language to use and how the
conversation should develop. In order to do this activity, good preparation from
teacher and students is really necessary. The example and procedures of
unscripted role play which is adapted from Doff (1988:233-234) are as follows:
One student has lost a bag.
He/she is at the police station.
The other student is the police officer, and asks for details.
To brings out these ideas:
1) The teacher could prepare the whole class, by:
a) Discussing what the speakers might say (e.g. the police officer would asks the
students how he or she lost the bag).
b) Writing prompt on the board to guide the role play, and any key vocabulary.
2) The teacher could divide the class into pairs, and:
a) Let them discuss together what they may say.
b) Let them all try out the role play privately, before calling on one or two pairs
to act out in front of the class.
Susan House (1997:23), explained that there are several procedures in using role
play:
a. Students read and familiarize themselves with the (example) dialogue.
b. Divide the class in pairs, A and B, give A and B roles from the dialogues.
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c. Let students act out their role play, not just say them but students should read
it loudly.
d. Walk around correcting and checking.
e. Students swap roles and repeat, those whose finish first can be asked to make
up their own role play, using different words to fill the gaps.
The above procedures do not mean an exact to be used. It is flexible;
teacher can create or develop procedures which is appropriate and suitable with
his/her own class.

2.5 Components of Speaking Skill

The goal of teaching speaking skills is to communicate efficiency.
Learners should be able to make themselves understood, using their current
proficiency to the fullest. They should try to avoid confusion in the message due
to faulty pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary, and to observe the social and
cultural rules that apply in each communication situation (Burnkart. 1982:2)
Based on explanation above, the researcher is going to test speaking
achievement by applying those criterions, they are pronunciation, grammar,
vocabulary, and fluency.

2.5.1 Pronunciation
Pronunciation, according to Manser (2000:3) is individual, local, or
national way of speaking. In addition, Hughes (1996:111) explains that in the
pronunciation criteria the speaker also included in accent. It means that
pronunciation is one of the most important criteria to be evaluated. In this
research, the accent refers to the ability of students in pronouncing words.

2.5.2 Grammar
According to Thornburry, grammar is partly the study of what forms (or
structures) are possible in a language (1999:1). Grammar is also one of the
elements of speech. It is essential in speaking as Lado states that speaking ability
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among others is the ability to use, in essential normal communication situations,

grammatical structure of the foreign language at a normal rate of delivery for
native speakers of language (1979:81).
In line with this, grammar is needed for students to arrange a correct
sentence in conversation. That is why, the teachers should realize that teaching
spoken language do not only teach the students to speak, but also teach them to
know the concept or the theory on how to speak grammatically.

2.5.3 Vocabulary
Vocabulary is the total number of words which (with rules for combining
them) make up the language Hornby (1978:859). Furthermore, Bygate (in
Budiharso, 2006:14) states that is obvious that in order to be able to speak a
foreign language, it is necessary to know a certain amount of grammar and
vocabulary. In this case, the researcher is going to evaluate and observe the
students speaking activity whether the students use appropriate vocabulary or not
based on the topic given.

2.5.4 Fluency
Fluency is the students ability in speaking in a well form. In the line with
this idea, Brown (2001:269) states that fluency is best achieved by allowing the
stream of speech to flow. To speak fluently does not mean speak fast. Thornbury
(2005: 6) states some features of fluency as follows:
a. Pauses may be long but not frequent.
b. Pauses are usually filled.
c. Pauses occur at meaningful transition points.
d. There are long runs of syllables and words between pauses.
In this research, fluency refers to the ability of students in speaking by
fulfilling some indicators they are production strategies, pause fillers, vagueness,
and repeats.
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2.6 Significance of Role Play in Teaching Speaking

It has been mentioned before in the above discussion that role play is one
of the activities to promote speaking. Through role play activities the students
learn how to express ideas, opinion, or feeling to the others by using words or
sound of articulation. A role play is a highly flexible learning activity which has a
wide scope for variation and imagination. Role play uses different communicative
techniques and develops fluency in the language, promotes interaction in the
classroom and increase motivation. Here peer learning is encouraged and sharing
of responsibility between teacher and the learners in the learning process activity.
Role play can improve learners speaking skills in any situation, and helps
learners to interact. As for the shy learners, role play helps by providing a mask,
where learners with difficulty in conversation are liberated. In addition, it is fun
and most learners will agree that enjoyment leads to better learning.
Several reasons for using role play in teaching speaking;
a. A very wide variety of experience can be brought into the classroom and we
can train our students in speaking skill in any situations through role play.
b. Some people are learning English to prepare for specific roles in their lives. It
is helpful for these students to have tried out and experimented with the
language they will require in the friendly and safe environment of a classroom.
c. Role play helps many shy students by providing them with a mask.
d. Perhaps the most important reason for using role play is that it is fun.
In conclusion, role play is a technique which can develops students’
fluency in target language, promotes students to speak or interact with others in
the classroom, increases motivation and makes the teaching learning process more
enjoyable.

2.7 Action Hypothesis

The action hypothesis is formulated as follows:
“By using role play, the speaking ability of the class X APH I students of SMKN
1 Banyuwangi in the 2015/2016 academic year will be improved”
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