H. Conceptual Framework (Rev 2)

1. Writing in language learning

a. General Concept of Writing

Writing is combination of process and product .  When concentrating on the product we are only interested in the aim of a task and in the end product. Those who advocate a process approach to writing, however, pay attention to the various stages that any piece of writing goes through (Harmer, 2004). A half a century ago, writing teachers were mostly concerned with the final product of writing: the essay, the report, the story, and what that product should “look” like. Meanwhile, process approach do most of the following : focus on the process of writing that leads to the final written product; help students writers to understand their own composing process, help them to build reportories of strategies foe prewriting, drafting, and rewriting; give students time to write and rewrite; place central importance on the process of revision; let students discover what they want to say as they write; give students feedback throughout the composing process as they attempt to bring their expression closer and closer to intention; encourage feedback from both instructor and peers; and include individual conferences between teacher and students during the process of composition (Brown, 2001).

b. Definition of writing

Writing can be defined as the activity to make letters or number on a surface, especially using pen or pencil (Oxford, 2008). Writing is one of the four language skills besides listening, speaking, and reading. It is an activity in arranging words, phrases, and sentences that is grammatically correct and appropriate with its purpose. Generally, writing can be interpreted as the act of forming or tracing a character on paper or other suitable materials with a pen or pencil.  (Harmer, 2004) Writing is a way to produce language and express idea, feeling, and opinion. Furthermore he states that writing is a process that what people write is often heavily influenced by the constraints of genres, and then these elements have to be presented in learning activities. Writing is the most creative language skill. Writing is the most efficiently acquired when practice in writing parallels practice in the other skills. Writing provides an excellent consolidating activity. Writing is also useful for setting homework exercises and for some class text (Patel & Jain, 2008).

c. Process of writing

Writing process is a framework for writing well and easily. According to (Blanchard & Root, 2003) Generally the writing process consists of three stages, they are:

1)      Prewriting

In pre writing step, we think about topic and organize the ideas. Prewriting is the thinking, talking, reading, and writing about topic before writing a first draft. Prewriting is a way of warming up brain before writing. There are several ways to warm up before writing:

·         Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a quick way to generate a lot of ideas on a subject. The purpose is to make a list as many ideas as possible without worrying about how to use them. They can include words, phrases, sentences, or even question. To brainstorm, there are some steps:

-    Begin with a broad topic.

-    Write down as many ideas about the topic.

-    Add more items to the list by answering the questions what, how, when, where, why, and who.

-    Group similar items on the list together.

-    Cross out items that do not belong.

·         Clustering

Clustering is another prewriting technique. It is a visual way of showing how ideas are connected using circles and lines. In other words, clustering is an activity of drawing the ideas. To cluster, there are some steps:

-       Write the topic in the center of a blank piece of paper and draw a circle around it.

-       Write any ideas that come into mind about the topic in circles around the main circle.

-       Connect these ideas to the center word with a line.

-       Think about each of new ideas, write more related ideas in circles near the new ideas, and then connect them.

-       Repeat this process until the ideas run out.

2)      Writing

This is actually writing the first draft of the piece. After thinking about topic and doing necessary prewriting, the next step in the writing process is writing paragraph. When write the first draft of the paragraph, the ideas generated from prewriting used as a guide. When writing a paragraph, remember to:

-          Begin with a topic sentence that states the main idea.

-          Include several sentences that support the main idea.

-          Stick to the topic – do not include information that does not directly support the main idea.

-          Arrange the sentences so that the order of ideas makes sense.

-           Use signal words to help the reader understand how the ideas in paragraph are connected.

3)       Revising

It is almost impossible to write a perfect paragraph on the first time. After completing the first draft, a writer must look for ways to improve it. This step is called revising. When revising paragraph, we can do the following:

-          Add new ideas to support the topic.

-          Cross out sentences that do not support the topic.

-          Change the order of the sentences.

From the writing process above, the researcher concludes that writing is a process of creating, organizing, writing and revising. In the first step of the process is creating ideas. In the second step is organizing the ideas. In the third step is writing a rough draft. In the final step is editing a rough draft and making revisions.

2. Descriptive text

a. Definition of descriptive text

Descriptive writing appeals to the senses, so it tells how something looks, feels, smells, tastes, and/or sounds. A good description is a word picture; the reader can imagine the object, place, or person in his or her mind (Oshima & Hogue, 2007). A description usually follows a pattern of organization that we call spatial order. Spatial order is the arrangement of things in space.  Descriptive  is a kind of text which is aimed to describe a particular person, place, or thing.

b. Characteristic of descriptive text

c. Language feature of descriptive text

e. Example of descriptive text

3. Module

a. Defenition of Module

According to (Russel, 1974) Module is an instructional package dealing with a single conceptual unit of subject-matter. Modules are designed to help the students accomplish certain well-defined objectives. With the use of a module, instruction can be individualized. The learners can go through the material at their own pace and at their own time. They may also be used to complement instruction.  Meanwhile, (Robinson & Crittenden, 1972) define A module as a packet of teaching materials consisting of behavioral, sequence of learning activities, and provisions for evaluation.

From some of these opinions, it can be concluded that the module is a resource that contains a series of learning activities in a certain material systematically arranged, operated, and directed to help students achieve a number of objectives were formulated in specific and clear. The module can be used with or without the guidance of a teacher

b. Advantages of Module

c.  Purpose of module

d. Characteristic of module

e. Requirement of good module

4. Materials

a. Definition of material

Anything which is used to help language learners to learn. Materials can be in the form, for example, of a textbook, a workbook, a cassette, a CD-ROM, a video, a photocopied handout, a newspaper, a paragraph written on a whiteboard: anything which presents or informs about the language being learned (Tomlinson, 2011).  

b. Types of Teaching and Instructional Material

            There are some types of teaching and instructional materials such as:          

·         Visual aids :

-          Boards: Blackboard, Flannel boards, soft boards.

-          Charts, Maps, Pictures, Drawings.

-          Static and Working Modal

-          Film strip, Slide Projector, OHP,Transparencies and Episcope.

·         Audio aids :

-          Audio Cassette Player

-          Radio

·         Audio Visual aids :

-          Video Cassette player

-           Video Compact Disc Player

-           Television

-          Film Projector

·         Language Laboratory

·         Computer Assisted Learning

c. Supplementary materials

Materials designed to be used in addition to the core materials of a course. They are usually related to the development of the skills of reading, writing, listening or speaking rather than to the learning of language items, but also include dictionaries, grammar books and workbooks (Tomlinson, 2011).