Contents: Introduction Chapter I theoretical foundations of teaching speaking to pupils of junior form

1.2. The most common difficulties in teaching speaking to young learners.
The researchers think that there must be a way to solve students’ difficulties in speaking English. There are many ways to help the students to overcome their difficulties in speaking English. According to Harmer when the teachers want to encourage students to speak, they have to use communicative approach that avoids the concentration towards grammar and vocabulary but emphasizes on the significance of language function (Harmer, 2001). In other words, these activities will involve students in real communication, where the achievement of their communicative task is more important than the accuracy of language they are using. However, Harmer continued his statements that in order to do these activities, there must be something that makes students interested in communication (Harmer, 2004). In this case, game can be a solution as it stated by Prank that game is used for giving intense and passionate involvement in communication to the students so that they can feel enjoyment and pleasure in learning (Mahmoud & Tanni, 2014). Therefore, teachers have to try to motivate students to speak by using games combined with communicative approach so that hopefully it can create a good circumstance, encourage students to take part actively and improve the quality of students’ communicative competence. Based on the descriptions, a research is carried out to analyze and to prove whether communicative games can improve students speaking skills. In this case, the seventh grade students are chosen as the subject of the study because they are considered as the lower level in speaking skill than the other classes based on the interview toward the English teachers. Here, the researcher tries to propose a strategy in teaching English especially teaching speaking namely “Communicative Game”. Based on the introduction and the objectives, it is assumed that Communicative games can improve students’ English Speaking skills. Communicative game is a set of well fun-design activities can stimulate students’ interaction in the classroom. These games require them to take part actively in classroom by speaking and writing in order to express their own point of view or give information. More than that, students’ confidence will be automatically formed due to its concept in building habits of interaction. Game means “an activity with rules, a goal and an element of fun” (Hadfield, 1996). In addition, game is “an activity in which the learners play and usually interact with others” (Wright et al., 2006). They added that in order to express their own point of view or give information, the learners must speak or write as in getting the meaning from others, they have to understand what people are saying or have written (Gate, 2003). Communicative Games can be an alternative way to overcome students’ difficulties in learning how to speak English. In fact, they can improve their speaking skills. However, talking about communicative games cannot be separated from those two terms;” communicative” and “game”. The word communicative refers to the communicative approach in which teaching-learning activity avoids the concentration towards grammar and vocabulary but emphasizes on the significance of language function (Harmer, 200). In other words, these activities will involve students in real communication, where the achievement of their communicative task is more important than the accuracy of language they use. Therefore, it can give positive impact towards students’ motivation and classroom atmosphere which in line with Michael J Wallace (1987), language games are used for increasing emphasis on the importance of motivation and the appropriate kind of positive effective atmosphere in the classroom. Breafly, it can be concluded that communicative game is a set of well-design activities which stimulates students’ interaction in the classroom. These games require students to take part actively in classroom by speaking and writing in order to express their own point of view or
give information. Then, their confidence will be automatically formed due to its concept in building habits of interaction.
By Gate (2003) says, “Speaking is a skill which deserves attention every bit as much as literary skills, in both first and second language. It is the skill students are frequently judged. It is also the vehicle par excellent of social solidarity, social ranking, professional advancement and business” (Jones, 1989). Furthermore, Jones (1989) defines speaking as a form of communication in which the effective
conveyance of what the speaker says is very crucial.In line with this definition, Kush clarified for what is called as effective speaking as an utterance in a set of voices spoken by someone and understood by someone else (Kushartanti et al., 2005). It means that speaking is not as simple as we say something but more than that it is related to the meaning that is constructed so that people can understand what we are saying. As a complement, Brown added that the process of constructing meaning involves producing, receiving, and processing information (Florez, 1999). Another expert said that “speaking is intentional activity; it serves a purpose the speaker wants to realize” (Levelt, 1989). Therefore, speaking is somebody’s aptitude that is uttered eagerly to make an expression for some reasons. Speaking is the presence of communication goal that has to be realized, for instance the speakers want to express wish and desire to do something; negotiate and solve particular problem; or establish and maintain social relationship with others. The ability to produce utterance (utterances) is not enough for being a good speaker because speaking is a complex skill that requires the simultaneous use of a number of different abilities that have to be mastered by language learners in order to be able to express their feelings and ideas appropriately. There are two elements of speaking which are necessary to be considered by the speaker as it stated by Harmer in his book “The Practice of English Language Teaching”, the first is Language Feature which consist of several sub-elements as follows: a. Connected speech is the sounds modifying in producing utterance when people speak. It includes modifying (assimilation), omitting (elision), adding (linking r), or weakening (through contraction and stress patterning); b. Expressive device is the stress and pitch variation in producing utterance in order to convey the truth meaning of the messages meant by the speaker. It includes the variation of the volume and speed of the speech. By using these devices people will be able to show what and how they are feeling to whom they are talking to; c. Grammar and lexis: People live in different ways, places, and environments causing different mindset too. Therefore, teachers need to supply their students with various phrases for different function in their speaking classroom activities.