The document discusses using Problem Based Learning (PBL) to improve English speaking skills for 10th grade students at SMK Tamansiswa 1 vocational high school in Indonesia. It outlines issues with traditional teaching which lacks real-world application and prevents students from communicating effectively. The author believes PBL can engage students by making lessons relevant to their lives and encouraging critical thinking and collaborative problem solving. The study aims to determine how PBL can be applied in the speaking classroom and whether it improves students' speaking abilities.

1. TITLE
The Application of Problem Based Learning in Teaching Speaking based on Curriculum
2013 to the 10th Grade Students of SMK Tamansiswa 1
BACKGROUND
English as the international language becomes the primary language used in the global
era. It becomes the popular language which is used to communicate among people who don’t
have same first language. According to Harmer (2002: 18), English has been grown in the
last decade because it is used by at least a quarter of the world population. It means that
English is important, especially for development of knowledge and society.
Morever, English is used by countries to be taught in their education system, included
Indonesia. In Indonesia, English is the foreign language to be taught in which it is used as the
implication and adaptation to the modern era. Therefore, English is very important to be
learned in almost all degree in every school in Indonesia. It is introduced from the smallest
level up to the highest level of school, thought in the new curriculum it is just given start
from the junior level of school.
In teaching English as a foreign language, there are four aspects that usually improved
in the teaching and learning process, that are, listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
According to Penny (1996: 6), speaking is considered as important skill which is the most
used skill by people rather than the three other skills. It means that teaching speaking to the
students is more demanding rather than the three other skills.
There are also some experts think that speaking is the important point in English
teaching. As Harmer (2002: 265) has a notion that speaking seems to naturally be the most
important and is included a productive skill in which students have to produce language by
themselves. While MCDonough and Shaw opinions that speaking is the skill upon which a
person is judged at face value (1993: 157). In other words, speaking is the major criterion to
judge the English students’ competences are good, enough, or lack.
Teaching speaking has been given to the students since Junior High School up to Senior
High School but there are still many of them in Senior High School such as the tenth grade
students of SMK Tamansiswa 1 have problems in learning speaking. They seem hard to
________________________________________________________________ Siti Purwaningsih

2. communicate actively with others, even relate the subject with what being talked in their real
life. It makes the students difficult to improve their conversation to be well communication.
Whereas, according to MCDonough and Shaw (1993: 157), speaking has a goal to encourage
the acquisition of communication and foster real communication in and out of the classroom.
In teaching learning process, many teachers just inquire their students to do some
exercises and spend their time at the class in order to make their students achieve a good
result in the last examination. Therefore, the students lack to practice English communication
well in which they will be able to communicate well by relate what being taught and what
being happen in the real world.
Based on the problem above, it is needed an improvement in teaching and learning
process in order to make the students communicate well. The new curriculum, curriculum
2013, is the perfecting of the previous curriculum, KTSP (Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan
Pendidikan), which balances the assessment of spiritual and social attitude, knowledge, and
skill. The curriculum 2013 uses scientific approach which emphasizes on five steps that are,
observing, asking, exploration, associating/ analyzing, and communicating. The teacher
should follows the five steps in order improve the students’ competent.
In the curriculum 2013, there are some methods which are suitable to be applied in the
learning process that are, Project Based Learning, Discovery Based Learning, and Problem
Based Learning. From the three methods, it seems the Problem based Learning becomes the
most suitable to be applied to improve the students competence in communicating well. It is
supported by Barnes and Barmley statements that there’s an obvious correlation between
students engagement and content retention when using Problem based Learning (2008: 75).
They concluded “making activities relevant to students’ lives, affording students’ choice in
their work, encouraging students to set goals and reflect on them positively influences
engagement in classroom activities. While Duch, Groh, and Allen (2001) state that Problem
Based Learning develops the ability to think critically, analyze and solve complex real world
problems; to find, evaluate, and use appropriate learning resources; to work cooperatively, to
demonstrate effective communication skills, and to use content knowledge and intellectual
skills .
The writer believes that Problem Based Learning can solve the problem faced in the
speaking class and make the students more desirable to communicate and interact with others
in many possibilities they have. As Torp and Sage (2002) state that the use of Problem Based
________________________________________________________________ Siti Purwaningsih

3. Learning in teaching activity will increase motivation, promote higher order thinking, and
self regulated learning all while making the learner relevant to the real world situation.
Therefore, students must use the opportunity to express opinions and feelings, and to make a
situation which can involve students in real communication.
Because of the method and strategy that used by the teacher influences the students
competent on speaking skill, therefore, the writer would like to discuss “the application of
problem based learning in teaching speaking based on curriculum 2013 to the 10th grade
students of SMK Tamansiswa 1”.
PROBLEM STATEMENTS
1. What is Problem Based Learning?
2. How is the application of Problem Based Learning in teaching speaking to the 10th
grade students of SMK Tamansiswa 1?
3. How is the effectiveness of Problem Based Learning in teaching speaking to the 10th
grade students of SMK Tamansiswa 1?
OBJECTIVE OF STUDY
The objective of study is to know the effectiveness of using problem based learning in
teaching speaking to the students. This writing is also expected to be able to help the writer
and especially the teachers and students which are involved.
________________________________________________________________ Siti Purwaningsih