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DEVELOPING ENGLISH WRITING MATERIALS IN FUNCTIONAL TEXT FOR GRADE X COMPUTER NETWORK ENGINEERING VOCATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

Dian Novita

English Applied Linguistics, Postgraduate Program, Universitas Negeri Medan, Medan, Indonesia

Abstract This study aims to develop appropriate English writing material for grade X students of Computer Network Engineering Vocational High School. This study was conducted by Research and Development (R & D) design through six phases; gathering information and data, analyzing data, designing new materials, validating by experts, revising and final product. It was conducted at SMK Negeri 2 Binjai for grade X, consisting of 30 students. The instruments for collecting the data were observation, questionnaire, and interview. Based on the data, it was found that some writing materials from students’ book are not appropriate with their major or needs. There are also writing materials need to be developed based on syllabus and students’ needs. In analyzing students’ needs, the questionnaire distributed to 30 students. An interview was also conducted to the teacher. After the materials had been designed, the writing materials were done. The product has been validated by experts. The result of questionnaire which was given by the validators shown 92,5% from English lecturer and 80% from English teacher. It means the developing materials are categorized as “relevant” for the students at SMK Negeri 2 Binjai Grade X.

Keywords: English, writing materials, functional text, Research and Development (R &D).

INTRODUCTION In English, kinds of text are needed to support learners in learning. And all kinds of texts in writing is called genres. Moreover, learn about genres are also important in learning writing. Generally, there are only thirteen genres which are known by the learners in learning writing, whereas there are many text genres that should be learnt in writing. There are main types of genres which divided into three classes these are interpersonal conversation, transactional conversation, and also functional text. In the syllabus of grade X, students are expected to be able to master writing skill for functional text which consists of Memo and Simple Menu, Public Transportation Schedule, Traffic Signs, Invitation letter, and Descriptive text as it is written in Core Competency 1.3 Students are expected to be able to describe things, person, characteristic features, time, day, and year; 1.6 Comprehend Memo and Simple Menu, Timetable, Public Transport Schedule, Traffic Signs; In mastering writing skill, students should be supported by appropriate learning material. Based on the writer’s observation, the learning materials provided in the textbook of grade X for students Computer and Network Engineering Department at SMK Negeri 2 Binjai do not support the students’ learning writing activity due to the inappropriate topics of text genre, in this case is some functional texts these are Memo, Schedule, Invitation letter, and Descriptive text which do not relate to their majors at all. It is related to the previous thesis from Siburian (2016) entitled Developing Learning Material of Descriptive Text for The Tenth Grade Students as Supplementary Material. His research is focused on Writing skill, particularly Descriptive text. The problem of his research is the material does not fulfill the students’ need and does not fulfill the curriculum expectations. Based on Hutchinson and Water (1987, p. 8) says that learners were seen to have different need and interest, which would have an important influence on their motivation to learn and therefore on the effectiveness of their learning. This lent support to the development of courses in which “relevant” to the learners’ need and interest was paramount. It can be concluded that English is also used for specific purposes. Thus, to support the students’ need in writing skill, it is important to develop appropriate learning materials as it is raised in this study entitled “Developing English Writing Materials for Grade X Computer Network Engineering Department in Vocational High School.”

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DEVELOPING ENGLISH WRITING MATERIALS IN FUNCTIONAL TEXT FOR GRADE X COMPUTER NETWORK ENGINEERING VOCATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL by Dian Novita

LITERATURE REVIEW Writing is one of important skill in English that should be mastered by the writers. They should have good writing skill in creating good handwriting. In order to have good writing skill, they should master the use of vocabulary, grammar, and punctuations. That is why writing skill is the most difficult thing to be mastered. It is related to Oshima and Hogue (1998, p. 3) who stated that writing, particularly academic writing is not easy. It takes study and practice to develop this skill. It also emphasized by Heaton (1988, p. 138) which is stated writing skill is complex and difficult, requires, not only grammatical and rhetorical devices but also in conceptual and judgment. No matter how difficult it is, writers need writing to transform what they think in their mind to be something that others can know. According to Hutchinson’s and Water’s theory, English for specific purposes (ESP) is a way of teaching- learning English for specialized subjects with specific vocational and educational purposes. There are different needs for different purposes or learners of English, for examples, English for Computer Network Engineering, English for Business, English for Secretaries, English for Technicians and others. The development of English for Specific Purposes has five phases, they are registered analysis, discourse analysis, target situation analysis, skills, and strategies. Needs analysis is one major factor that differentiates ESP from other approaches to language teaching. Because of the utilitarian nature of ESP, the course is based on analyzing the needs of the learner before designing a course. Hutchinson and Waters (1987, pp. 54-55) state that needs analysis should be proceeded by distinguishing the difference between target needs (what the learners need to do in target situation) and learning needs (what the learners to do in order to learn).

Target Needs Hutchinson and Waters (1987, p. 57) also stated that target need is used to find out: (1) what the learner has to know, (2) what the learner knows already, (3) what their need is. TSA should relevance to the needs of learners and situation. The target needs include the terms of necessities, lacks and wants. 1. Necessities These needs are determined by the demands of the target situation. It means what the learner has to know in order to function effectively in the target situation. 2. Lacks It is required to know what the learner knows already so that it can be decided then which of the necessities the learners lack. The target proficiency needs to be matched against the existing proficiency of the learners’ lack (Hutchinson & Waters, 1984). 3. Wants The learners to have a view as to what their needs are. According to Richterich (1980), the existence of need is associated with the perceptions and desires of a person. Needs do not exist in reality; it is rather an image of personal feelings that the learners express on the basis of data pertinent to their environment. So, wants are, in fact, the reflection of learners’ own perceptions.

Learning Needs Target situation is like a destination of the learners, while learning needs are the routes of reaching the destination. Teachers have to choose the route according to the condition of the learning situation; the learners’ knowledge, skills and strategies; and the learners’ motivation for traveling (learning the language) Hutchinson and Waters (1987, p. 60).

METHODS This research was conducted by using educational Research and Development (R & D). Borg and Gall stated that educational research and development was Industry-based development model in which the findings of the research were used to design new educational product and process, which then systematically field-tested, evaluated, and refined until specified criteria of effectiveness, quality, or similar standards were met (2003, p. 569). Based on Borg and Gall’s theory, there are six steps of material development these are collecting data, analyzing data, developing writing material, validating by experts, revising writing material, final revision Techniques of Data Analysis The data of this study was the students’ need analysis and existing materials. It was related to the Hutchinson and Waters’ theory (1991), which stated that need analysis was needed to discover learners’ true needs. Need analysis consists of target needs and learner needs. The data were analyzed as follows: need analysis by using questionnaire and interview. The questionnaire would be administered to the

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Proceedings of the 2nd English Education International Conference (EEIC) in conjunction with the 9th Annual International Conference (AIC), Universitas Syiah Kuala, September 18-19, 2019, Banda Aceh, Indonesia ISSN: 2527-8037 students, and so would the interview with the teacher to support the questionnaire. The relevant writing material particularly functional text these were Memo, Schedule, Invitation letter, and Descriptive text would be planned.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Results The results of data analysis are presented. The data was collected and the fundamental goal achieved in this study is the students need the appropriate writing materials and developing the writing materials particularly memo, schedule, invitation letter, and descriptive text for Grade X Students of Computer Network Engineering Study Program.

1. Collecting data (existing materials, syllabus, lesson plan, students’ questionnaire, and teacher’s interview)

2. Analyzing data

Table 1. Necessities. What skill do you really need in English? Listening 3.3 % Speaking 60 % Reading 3.3 % Writing 33.3 %

It can be seen that students needed to improve the speaking skill then followed by writing skill. This was supported by the teacher’s statement in the interview that the students really need speaking and writing skills because when she said something to them, they did not understand what she meant. They also did not understand what they should do when given instruction on writing texts.

Table 2. Lacks (desire). Do you like writing an English text? Yes, I do 36.7 % No, I do not 60 %

Table 3. Lacks (obstacle). What is your obstacle in developing an English writing text? Make a sentence 26.7 % Choose a vocabulary 43.3 % Arrange a paragraph 16.7 % Using grammar 26,7 %

Table 4. Lacks (ability). Can you write or develop a text well? Yes, I can 10 % No, I can not 83.3 %

Table 5. Lacks (cause). If not, what is the reason that you have? Because the topic is not interesting 0 % Lack of understanding vocabulary 53.3 % Do not understand grammar well 10 % The topic is not appropriate with the major 36.7 %

Based on the lacks of aspect above, it can be concluded that the students want to improve their vocabulary so that, they can write or develop text well and the students also need that the English text should be relevant with their need in order to comprehend the text well also.

Table 6. Wants (desire). Do you like writing an English text? Yes, I do 36.7 % No, I do not 60 %

Table 7. Wants (cause). If yes, what is the reason that you have? The topic is interesting 10 % Understand many vocabularies 10 % Understand grammar well 13.3 % The topic is appropriate with the major 0 %

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DEVELOPING ENGLISH WRITING MATERIALS IN FUNCTIONAL TEXT FOR GRADE X COMPUTER NETWORK ENGINEERING VOCATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL by Dian Novita

Based on the information given in the tables above, it can be concluded that the students were interested in writing an English text. The reason why they like writing, because they understood the grammar well, even the topics were not appropriate with their needs. After knowing their preferences, the students wanted to have the writing material based on Computer Network Engineering study program. Thus, they not only can learn the Writing English material effectively but also can support their future life in getting a job or others.

3. Designing new writing materials

Memo

To : Mr. Angga, Chief of Computer Engineer

From : Mr. Kadir, Shop Manager of Acer Service

Date : October 10th, 2017

Subject : Project Meeting

I write to inform you that we have a meeting today. So, meet me in meeting room at 2 p.m., to plan the internet network project. It is important because the investors will be there also to follow the development of the project.

Figure 1. Writing a memo.

Schedule

Table 8. Schedule of Class X TKJ 1 Computer Practice Materials Computer. No Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 Disassemble Identify the Making a network Learn about Making an offline Making a LAN the Computer specification of cable Microsoft Office database system Network Computer by using Excel 2 Write and Making work Making a program Making an Learn about Assemble the group for sharing by using program online database network Computer Data and Printer language C++ system by using configuration Apache 3 Checking BIOS on Computer

Invitation Letter

Jl. Padepokan Bintar Binjai Barat, 20768 12 April 2016 Head of SMK Negeri 2 Jl. Merpati Putih Binjai Timur, 27403

The Honorable Headmaster of SMK Negeri 2 Binjai,

Through this letter, we are as the partner of SMK Negeri 2 Binjai in Teamwork Competition New LINUX Creating inform you that the first meeting will be hold on 14 April 2017 at 2 p.m. in SMK Putra Anda Binjai.

This meeting will be discussed about the Basic plan of LINUX creation. That is why, hopefully, all the team can be attend the meeting.

Your sincerely, Head of SMK Putra Anda Binjai

Figure 2. Writing an invitation letter.

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Descriptive Text

Creative Desktop

Creative desktop (touch mat) is a desktop which connect directly to a computer with 3D camera. This technology is also called touch mat which has two main functions these are scanning which place on the table and manipulates it by using canvas which is on the table. It is the combination between scanner, desktop, and camera. It has big screen such a desktop. It also has a projector on the top of desktop and it has a sprout which placed under the projector which is connected with the desktop. The Sprout is large as the desktop. It is used as a place to scan or to move a real picture into the touch mat. It is also connected to a CPU and an electric socket. At the bottom of the desktop there is a port which connects it to the CPU. There also has a port to connect it to the electric socket.

Figure 3. Writing a descriptive text.

Validation by the Exper ts

Table 9. English teacher’s validation score. No. Criteria The Number of Criteria Maximum Score Score 1. Linguistic 7 35 30 2. Process 5 25 18 3. Content 7 35 26 4. Layout 5 25 22 Total 24 120 96

ퟗퟔ ퟗퟔ Average Score = = 4 or Percentage = x 100% = 80% ퟐퟒ ퟏퟐퟎ

The average score of validation was 4. It was categorized as relevant or appropriate. Then the percentage showed that the writing materials were 80% valid based on the English teacher’s validation. The second validation was from English lecturer. There were four criteria to consider whether the writing materials were valid

Table 10. English lecturer’s validation score. No. Criteria The Number of Criteria Maximum Score Score 1. Linguistic 7 35 32 2. Process 5 25 22 3. Content 7 35 33 4. Layout 5 25 24 Total 24 120 111

ퟏퟏퟏ ퟏퟏퟏ Average Score = = 4.63 or Percentage = x 100%= 92.5 % ퟐퟒ ퟏퟐퟎ

The average score of validation was 4.63. It was categorized as appropriate. Then the percentage showed that the reading materials were 92.5 % valid based on English lecturer’s validation. Finally, final products or new reading materials were valid to use as learning materials at SMK Negeri 2 Binjai especially for Computer Network Study Program.

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DEVELOPING ENGLISH WRITING MATERIALS IN FUNCTIONAL TEXT FOR GRADE X COMPUTER NETWORK ENGINEERING VOCATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL by Dian Novita

4. Final Product

Memo

To : Mr. Angga, Chief of Computer Engineer From : Mr. Kadir, Shop Manager of Acer Service Date : October 10th, 2017 Subject : Project Meeting

Figure 4. Writing a memo.

Schedule

Table 11. Schedule of Class X TKJ 1 Computer Practice Materials Computer. No Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 Disassemble Identify the Making a Learn about Making an Making a LAN the Computer specification of network cable Microsoft Office offline database Network Computer system by using Excel 2 Write and Making work Making a Making an Learn about Assemble the group for program by online database network Computer sharing Data using program system by using configuration and Printer language C++ Apache 3 Checking BIOS on Computer

Invitation Letter

Jl. Padepokan Bintar Binjai Barat, 20768 12 April 2016 Head of SMK Negeri 2 Jl. Merpati Putih Binjai Timur, 27403

The Honorable Headmaster of SMK Negeri 2 Binjai, Through this letter, we are as the partner of SMK Negeri 2 Binjai in Teamwork Competition New LINUX Creating inform you that the first meeting will be hold on 14 April 2017 at 2 p.m. in SMK Putra Anda Binjai.

This meeting will be discussed about the Basic plan of LINUX creation. That is why, hopefully, all the team can be attend the meeting.

Your sincerely,

Head of SMK Putra Anda Binjai

Figure 5. Writing an invitation letter.

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Descriptive Text

Creative Desktop

It is the combination between scanner, desktop, and camera. It has big screen such a desktop. It also has a projector on the top of desktop and it has a sprout which placed under the projector which is connected with the desktop. The Sprout is large as the desktop. It is used as a place to scan or to move a real picture into the touch mat.

It is also connected to a CPU and an electric socket. At the bottom of the desktop there is a port which connects it to the CPU. There also has a port to connect it to the electric socket.

Figure 6. Writing a descriptive text.

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS Conclusions Based on the need analysis from the questionnaire and the interview, it was concluded that the students of SMK Negeri 2 Binjai, particularly in Computer Network Engineering Study Program, needed the writing materials which support their learning activity and their environment. The learning activity was supposed to increase their knowledge and learning environment to prepare them looking for a job in the future. The writing materials on general English textbook did not appropriate with the students' needs and it should be developed. The English writing material should be developed through five phases, they were; 1) gathering information and data, 2) Analyzing the data, 3) Designing materials based on the need analysis, 4) validating the new writing materials by experts (English teacher and English lecturer), 5) Revising- developing material (Final Product).

Suggestions From the conclusion above, this study would like to give some suggestion for the teacher, the students, and the institution: Teacher The teacher should consider the students’ needs in choosing a learning material. The learning process will be successful if they use appropriate learning material which supports their needs or their major. It can be useful for their daily life and learning environment. The teacher should use appropriate teaching material based on the students’ specific needs. The teacher should develop the material if she/ he found the materials were too general for students SMK Negeri 2 Binjai especially in Computer Network Engineering Study program which had specific needs. Institution The institution should supervise the teachers and ensure them that the writing materials supported the teaching and learning process. The institution also should find books which match the students’ needs. The number of references for English writing materials has to be increased to ease the students learning English. Other researchers Other researchers should find many references to support writing materials development. The questions in the questionnaire should be considered to give the students’ chance to deliver their wants in learning English specifically in writing skill.

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