The Effect of Student Team Achievement Division (STAD) Toward Students’ Speaking Ability at the Tenth Grade of SMAN 05 BUKITTINGGI
There are four abilities that students need to possess when studying English. The four abilities are speaking, writing, listening, and reading. Learners who wish to become proficient in English both actively and passively should possess these four abilities. Reading, speaking, listening, and writing are the four language skills are crucial for English language learners to acquire in order to communicate successfully, claims Brown (2001). Giving students the skills they need to communicate effectively and correctly is the primary goal of teaching them English. Senior high school students are required to master speaking in various contexts, such as classroom presentations, group discussions, interviews, and others. Thus, speaking skills become a very useful provision for students in their daily lives as well as in preparation for the world of work in the future. There are several reasons why speaking is prioritized in English language for learning. According to Ur (1999) speaking skills are a top priority in English language learning as it allows students to interact directly and communicate their ideas. Therefore, developing students' speaking skills should be the main focus of English language learning at the students are ready for face communication challenges in various life contexts. There are several reasons why students should improve their speaking skills. Firstly, extensive speaking skills will increase effective skills in learners, according to Bygate (2015) speaking skills allow learners to communicate effectively in a variety of situations both ceremonial and relax. Good mastery of English speaking skills will provide significant advantages for students, both in academic contexts and preparation for entering the world of work. Secondly, speaking is a part of confidence in learners in public, with good public speaking that they master, according to Harmer (2006) by practicing speaking, learners will feel more confident in using English. From good speaking skills can also build their confidence in using English in various contexts because of good public speaking. Thirdly, speaking can aid students in comprehending the vocabulary, grammar, and other facets of the English language; this will enhance their ability to communicate, claims Brown (2007). Students discover that speaking is beneficial at various grade levels, and that learning and vocabulary growth have an impact on speaking abilities. In English learning in high school, there are several lessons that they learn from the 10th grade, such as self-introduction, simple conversation, picture description, storytelling, giving opinion, etc. In this learning, it means that the participants are able to speak. However, in reality, students are still far from being able to speak. One of the main causes of students' low speaking ability is the lack of sufficient speaking practice during classroom learning (Kayi, 2006). Efforts are needed to identify and implement methods of learning to speak, so as to increase students' enthusiasm and ability in speaking English. Generally, learners who have not been able to speak in English due to several reasons, grade 10 learners still have limited English vocabulary, so they have difficulty in expressing their ideas and thoughts orally (Thornbury, 2005). Therefore, more intensive and innovative efforts are needed in learning English in high school, by providing more opportunities for meaningful speaking practice, increasing student confidence, and balancing mastery of grammar, vocabulary, and speaking skills so that students can communicate effectively in English. The lack of exposure to English in the school environment in Madya's (2013) research shows that the low use of English in the school environment, both by teachers and students, can hinder the development of English speaking skills in learners. Low motivation to learn English in Marzban & Hashemi (2013) research revealed that students' lack of motivation to learn and practice speaking English can hinder speaking skills. The lack of an effective strategy or method of learning to speak tends to decrease students' interest in practicing speaking English, this makes students feel bored and unmoved in mastering speaking (Renandya & Widodo, 2016). By paying attention to the problems mentioned above, ideally, this is contrary to the reality faced by researchers at school, as evidenced by the results of interviews with Mrs. Wenny, one of the English teachers at SMAN 05 Bukittinggi, researchers obtained information that students were unable to answer the teacher's questions, students were unable to respond in English, still used Indonesian in simple sentences, and had poor memory in speaking and repeating the contents of the lesson. Statistical data at school shows ineffective student performance when speaking English; this was found from the results of interviews with researchers and English teachers at SMAN 05 Bukittinggi, illustrated by the results of student grade data and student involvement while studying in class. Choosing a good learning method that can be applied to improve students' speaking ability is Student Team Achievement Division. STAD is a cooperative learning model that involves students in little group to help every other understand for material and achieve learning objective (Slavin, 2014). The STAD (Student Teams Achievement Division) cooperative learning method is proven to be effective in upgrading students speak ability. The learn conducive by Jacobs & Hannah (2004) found that through STAD learning, students have more opportunities to practice speaking and get feedback from their teammates. The application of STAD cooperative learning method is proven effective from previous research in improving students' speaking ability through increased motivation, practice opportunities, peer involvement, and self-confidence developed during learning. Through STAD, students are expected to practice speaking English actively in groups, thus improving their confidence and speaking ability