IMPROVING STUDENTS' SPEAKING PROFICIENCY USING GAMES

B. The Method of The ResearchThe method used in this research is action research. There are variousdefinitions of action research stated by some experts. Kemmis as quoted byHopkins (1993:44) gives the definition of action research as follows:Action research is a form of self-reflective inquiry undertaken byparticipators in a social situation (including education) in order to improvethe rationality and justice of (a) their own social or educational practice, (b)their understanding of these practices and (c) the situation in whichpractices are carried out.While in Mills’ point of view (2000: 6), action research is any systematicinquiry conducted by teacher researchers, principals, school counselors, or otherstakeholders in teaching/learning environment to gather information about theways how their particular schools operate, how they teach, and how well theirstudents learn. Moreover, Nunan (1997:18) argues that action research hasdistinctive feature that is those affected by planned changes have the primaryresponsibility for deciding on courses of critically informed action which seemlikely to lead to improvement, for evaluating the results of strategies tried out inpractice.Burns (1999:30) makes some characteristics of action research taken fromsome experts’ definition as follows:1. Action research is contextual, small-scale and localized. It identifies andinvestigates problems within a specific situation.2. It is evaluating and reflective as it aims to bring about change andimprovement in practice.xlv