MINI RESEARCH

Title of Research :

TEACHING ENGLISH BY USING APPLICATION ON SMARTPHONES TO

IMPROVE ENGLISH LANGUAGE SKILLS

By : Eni Julita Br Munthe 18120054

Group :B

Lecturer : Nurhayati Sitorus, M.Si

Subject : Professional Development

FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION ENGLISH

NOMMENSEN HKBP UNIVERSITY

MEDAN

2021
 PREFACE

First of all, let us say “thanks” for God’s love and grace for us. Thanks to God for
helping us and give us chance to finish our assignment Professional Development about
TEACHING ENGLISH BY USING APPLICATION ON SMARTPHONES TO
IMPROVE LISTENING SKILLS. And we would like to say “Thank you” to Mrs.
Nurhayati Sitorus as the lecturer that always teaches us and give much knowledge about
how to practice and teach English well.

This assignment is the one of English task that composed of Professional

Development. We are realized this assignment is not perfect. But we hope that it can be
useful for us. Critics and suggestion are needed here to make this assignment be better.
Hopefully, we as a student in Nommensen HKBP University can work more professional
by using English as the second language whatever we done. Thank you.

Medan, January , 2021

Author
 TABLE OF CONTENT

PREFACE …………………………………………………………………………….
TABLE OF CONTENT ………………………………………………………………

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTORY …………………………….……………….…...

1.1 Background of the study …………………………………………………………
1.1.1 Identification of the problem …………………………..….…………….
1.1.2 Formulation of the problem ………………………………………..…….
1.1.3 Objectives by the research ………………………………………………..
1.1.4 The limitation of the problem ……………………………………………
1.1.5 The Significant of the Study ……………………………………………..

CHAPTER II REVIEW OF LETERATURE…………………………………….

2.1 English …………………………………………………………...……………..
2.1.1 Definition of English …………………………………………………..
2.1.2 The rules of English ……………………………………………………
2.2 Language Skill …………………………………………………………………...
2.2.1 Listening ………………………………………………………………
2.2.2 Speaking ……………………………………………………………….
2.2.3 Reading ……………………………………………….……………….
2.2.4 Writing …………………………………………………..…………….
2.3 Application on Smartphone ……………………………………………………...
2.3.1 DuoLingo the application in teaching English…………………………
2.3.2 Learning English by Smart phone ……………………………………...

CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ……………………………….

3.1 Research Design ………………………………………………………………...
3.2 Population and sample ………………………………………………………….
3.3 Instrument of collecting data …………………………………………………...
3.4 Technique of collecting data ………………………...……………………….…
3.5 Technique of analyzing data ………………………………………………….…

CHAPTER IV DISCUSSION …………………………………………………….

4.1 Teaching Process ……………………………………………………………….
4.2 Conclusion …………………………………………………………………….
4.3 Suggestion …………………………………………………………………….

REFERENCES ………………………………………………..……………..…....
 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTORY

1.1 Background of the study

Language is very important for someone to communicate with others.
Communities need to communicate to understand each other. Therefore, language is
essential for life. Without language, it is impossible to communicate within society. On
the other hand, language as a system of communication enables humans to cooperate.
At the same time language is a part of the culture of a community. Humans use
language as a way of signaling identity with one cultural group and difference from
others.
As the foreign language, English is an important language in the world.
English has become a tool for international communication in transportation,
commerce, banking, tourism, process of technology, diplomacy, and scientific research
(Nunan in Cahyono, 2010: 91). It is formally thought students of elementary school,
junior and senior high school, and even to university . English is just learnt in the
school with limit of time. So, an English teacher has to know about strategies in order
to get better result in learning. Besides, she or he has to know about strategy or model
which must be used to guide the students. The teacher who has important role must
guide the students to have creativity in classroom. If strategy is not suitable with
situation of the class, the teaching and learning will not be successful.
In junior high school students are young learner. According to Harmer in
Cahyono (2011: 13), The students in this ages have several characteristics which are
different from adults in learning a language. In this case, they have to learn some texts
such as narrative, descriptive, recount, report and procedure texts. Unfortunately, many
students of junior high schools are not good enough at writing. The students consider
that writing is one of the most difficult language skill because they are demanded to
express their ideas in written English appropriately. It means that in teaching junior
high school students, teachers need to be creative in correlating the main topic to the
real situation and students can learn the linguistic features automatically.
Nowadays, mobile technologies and mobile applications (apps) are
becoming an indispensable part of learning, including foreign language learning.
Students learning a new language need as much language support as possible. Students
learning a new language need variety of language exposure. They need exposure of
listening and speaking, and they also need to practice a lot of reading and writing in the
language they learned. In this sense, technology has provided abundant resources for
listening and reading as well as space for practicing speaking and writing. When
teacher adds sound of voice to text, gives explanation orally using video, especially
when students can access it outside the classroom can give a personalized touch to
students’ learning experience. In this writing, some useful websites and Apps for
writing and reading will not be discussed in detail. There are many smartphone
applications that can be used in learning, such as DuoLingo, LingoDeer, BUSU, Hello
English, and other applications. can be accessed via android and iOS smartphones. In
this study the authors used the DuoLingo application to increase students' language
skills.

1.1.1 Identification of the problem

The identification of the problem is comprehending the result of the use
application in order to improve the ability of language skills.

1.1.2 Formulating of the problem

When we learn a language, there are four skills that we need for complete
communication. When we learn our native language, we usually learn to listen
first, then to speak, then to read, and finally to write.

1.1.3 Objectives by the research

Based on the formulation above, the objectives of this research are describing
to improve the ability of language skills of using application on smart phone.

1.1.4 The limitation of the problem

To simplify this study, the writer gives limitation as follows:
1) The study is focused on the use of application as media to improve the
ability of the students in use English well.
2) The study will be done only with students who is learn by using application
on smart phone.
1.1.5 The significant of the study
The researcher hopes this research will give some significance for:
1) English Teacher
This technique can help the teacher to understand the way to handle the
students in language teaching using application on smart phone, and it will
give contribution to successful teaching learning English.
2) Students
This technique is able to make the students enjoy when they are learning
and they do not feel bored. So the students can have creativity and use
English well.
3) Researcher
The researcher will improve her knowledge in teaching method and have
experience in conducting classroom action research.
 CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
2.1 English
English is the first international language used to interact with other people around the
world. The English language is an Indo-European language in the West Germanic
language group. Modern English is widely considered to be the lingua franca of the
world and is the standard language in a wide variety of fields, including computer
coding, international business, and higher education. Knowing English increases your
chances of getting a good job in a multinational company within your home country or
for finding work abroad. It's also the language of international communication, the
media and the internet, so learning English is important for socializing and
entertainment as well as work! Modern English, sometimes described as the first global
lingua franca, is also regarded as the first world language. English is the world's most
widely used language in newspaper publishing, book publishing, international
telecommunications, scientific publishing, international trade, mass entertainment, and
diplomacy.

2.2 Language Skill

Language is absolutely central to your learning: without it, you cannot make sense or
communicate your understanding of a subject. Someone will need to develop their
language skills, and specifically, their academic English, in order to: understand and
make the most effective use of the study materials. The four skills of language learning
are Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. They are four capabilities that allow an
individual to comprehend, produce, and use the language in effective interpersonal
communication.

2.2.1 Listening
Listening is receiving language through the ears. Listening involves identifying
the sounds of speech and processing them into words and sentences. When
students listen, they use their ears to receive individual sounds (letters, stress,
rhythm and pauses) and use their brain to convert these into messages that
mean something. Listening in any language requires focus and attention. It is a
skill that some people need to work at harder than others. People who have
difficulty concentrating are typically poor listeners. Listening in a second
language requires even greater focus. Listening is the ability to accurately
receive and interpret messages in the communication process. Listening is key
to all effective communication. Without the ability to listen effectively,
messages are easily misunderstood. As a result, communication breaks down
and the sender of the message can easily become frustrated or irritated. If there
is one communication skill you should aim to master, then listening is it.
2.2.2 Speaking
Speaking is an act of making vocal sounds. We can say that speaking means to
converse, or expressing one's thoughts and feelings in spoken language. To
speak often implies conveying information. It may be from an informal remark
to a scholarly presentation to a formal address. Speaking is the delivery of
language through the mouth. To speak, we create sounds using many parts of
our body, including the lungs, vocal tract, vocal chords, tongue, teeth and lips.
Speaking is the second of the four language skills, which are: Listening.
Speaking skills are defined as the skills which allow us to communicate
effectively. They give us the ability to convey information verbally and in a
way that the listener can understand. Formal speaking is a type of speaking
which does not involve in any way personal matter. Formal speaking is a type
of speaking in which the speaker has to follow some norms and principles at
the time whenever conveying the message in the formerly and structured
manner for the firm. Human brains are naturally wired to speak; they are not
naturally wired to read and write. With teaching, children typically learn to
read at about age 5 or 6 and need several years to master the skill.

2.2.3 Reading
Reading is the process of looking at a series of written symbols and getting
meaning from them. When we read, we use our eyes to receive written symbols
(letters, punctuation marks and spaces) and we use our brain to convert them
into words, sentences and paragraphs that communicate something to us. The
four main types of reading techniques are the Skimming, Scanning, Intensive,
Extensive. Reading skills are the skills acquired through reading, such as
comprehension, fluency, and independence. These skills give people the ability
to give clear meaning to the turn words on a page. These skills are important
because we read something in some form every day. Reading at home boosts
school performance later on. It also increases vocabulary, raises self-esteem,
builds good communication skills, and strengthens the prediction engine that is
the human brain. As they absorb these new words, they are able to define them
based on the context of the material. Children can also learn about sentence
structure through reading, which can help improve their writing skills.

2.2.4 Writing
Writing is the process of using symbols (letters of the alphabet, punctuation
and spaces) to communicate thoughts and ideas in a readable form. Writing
skills include all the knowledge and abilities related to expressing ideas
through the written word. Knowing what situations call for different styles of
writing and being able to set an appropriate tone over text are both important
writing skills that any person can use at work. While there are many reasons
why you might be putting pen to paper or tapping away on the keyboard, there
 are really only four main types of writing: expository, descriptive, persuasive,
and narrative. Each of these four writing genres has a distinct aim, and they all
require different types of writing skills. The components of writing are:
grammatical skill, compositional skill, and domain knowledge.

2.3 Application on Smartphone

A mobile application, also referred to as a mobile app or simply an app, is a computer
program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone,
tablet, or watch. Mobile phones is one of the technology that has made its mark and it's
been used for higher education. One of its advantage is that it's a portable device with
amazing features. Smart phones for students helps them to prepare for their future by
enhancing their learning process. Using the internet brings the 'real world' into the
classroom and gives the students an opportunity to explore learning in a different way.
However, having students facing a computer rather than the teacher, means teachers of
internet lessons do need to be vigilant. There are many smartphone applications that
can be used in learning, such as DuoLingo, LingoDeer, BUSU, Hello English, and
other applications. can be accessed via android and iOS smartphones. In this study the
authors used the DuoLingo application to increase students' language skills.

2.3.1 DuoLingo the application to teach English

DuoLingo is a smart phone application that can be used in learning English.
This Duolingo application does not only offer one type of language, there are
dozens of foreign languages that can be learned. Duolingo is like a language
course, but the content is not a textbook or a teacher (video) explains it.
students can learn languages on Duolingo for free. DuoLingo has a premium
subscription available to DuoLingo users which is called DuoLingo Plus. With
a Duolingo Plus subscription, students and teachers will have an ad-free
experience with access to offline lessons. so that learning can be effective.

2.3.2 Learning English by Smart phone

Access to the Internet is fundamental to achieving this vision for the future. It
can improve the quality of education in many ways. It opens doorways to a
wealth of information, knowledge and educational resources, increasing
opportunities for learning in and beyond the classroom. Efficiency: One of the
things that make smart phones so vital to our daily lives is their efficiency. The
speed with which you can do tasks on a smart phone is almost unparalleled. It
allows you to get work done and communicate with people even whilst you're
on the move. Now it has become necessary as the most important
communication gadget without which every one will become orphan. So
mobiles are important for students too. But care must be taken by the parents
and well wishers, that these mobiles are not misused by the students in the
campus and beyond.
 CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Research Design

The research design will be used a descriptive qualitative data. Shank (2002)
defines qualitative research as “a form of systematic empirical inquiry into
meaning” (p. 5). By systematic he means “planned, ordered and public”, following
rules agreed upon by members of the qualitative research community. By empirical,
he means that this type of inquiry is grounded in the world of experience. Inquiry
into meaning says researchers try to understand how others make sense of their
experience. According to Best and Kahn (2003: 24) that qualitative descriptive
research uses non-quantitative methods to describe what is and systematic
procedures to discover non-quantifiable relationships between existing variables.

3.2 Population and sample

The participant of this study is conducted of second grade students.. The writer
chooses one of the class, is science class. The class consist 45 students, and the
author choose two students for research. Research conducted at home.

3.3 The Instrument of Collecting Data

The instrument of collecting data of this study is language test, observation,
questionnaires, and documentation. For observation, the writer investigates the
situation and finds the problems during the students are doing the written test. In
questionnaire, the writer asks the student some questions in a piece of paper. For
documentation, the writer takes some pictures during teaching language skills.

3.4 Technique of Collecting data

The techniques of collecting data are obtained from the student in improve their
language skills. There are some techniques to collect the data to know the ability of
language skills of the students:
1) Language test : Language Testing is the practice and study of evaluating the
proficiency of an individual in using a particular language effectively
 2) Observation : Observation is done to investigate the situation and the problems
found during doing the language test.
3) Documentation : The collection of data through this technique is intended to
supplement the results of the data obtained through interviews and observations.
With this document the analysis expected data needed to be really valid.
Documents that can be used as sources include photos, research reports, books
according to research, and other written data.

3.5 Technique of analyzing Data

After collecting the data through test, the writer then analyze the data based on the
steps below:
1. Identifying the student’s abilities in language skills
2. Make a language test
3. Classifying the ability from the test.
4. Making the conclusion
 CHAPTER IV
DISCUSSION

4.1 Teaching Process

1. Teaching Listening
Learning to listen through applications such as Duolingo, can increase the
students pronunciation and vocabulary knowledge. The following is one of the
listening theories in the Duolingo application:

In this case, students ask

to listen the audio and
write the answer in the
column that is already in
provide.

2. Teaching Speaking
Learn English using the duolingo application. students can access via
smartphones, open the application then select lessons, students can do
pronunciation and answer questions.

In this section, students talk by pressing

the mic button that is available then check
whether the pronunciation is correct.
3. Teaching Reading
students can learn to read from the Duolingo smart phones application. with
easy access they will understand more quickly. other apps for learning to read
such as reading comprehension, readinghome, Reading eggs, master reading
and more.

In this section students write the answer in the column that is already in
provide. then check if the written answer is correct. In this case students ask
to translate the sentences.
4. Teaching Writing
Students can read and answer the statements given in the duolingo application.
besides that they can access other writing-based applications such as
grammarly, write in go, writerplus, and many more.

In this section students write the answer in the column that is already in
provide. then check if the written answer is correct.
4.2 Conclusion
In this research, it can be concluded that learning English can be done easily and
effectively, it does not need to be expensive. thus the students' language skills can
increase over time. they create and answer questions and get a score. the score
obtained is also the result of their hard work. In this study it can be concluded that
learning does not have to go through the teacher directly but can use technology.

4.3 Suggestion
The suggestions that the author wants to convey are:
1. students learning to use smart phones must limit their time to avoid excessive
radiation.
2. Dig up as much knowledge as possible through technology.
3. By using technology that is completely online, students and teachers are
expected not to forget books.
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Kothari, C.R. (2004). Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques (2nd

revised edition). New Delhi: New Age International (p) Ltd.

Mroczkowska, A. (2020). What Is a Mobile App? | App Development Basics for

Businesses. What is a mobile application? What kind of benefits does it bring to
businesses? Read this guide to learn about the process of building a mobile app. IT
Marketing & Communications Consultant.

Benwell, T. (2020). EnglishClub : Learn English : Writing : What is Writing?. OLX

Authoc.

Paran, A. (2012). Language skills: questions for teaching and learning. ELT
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