IMPLEMENTATION OF PEN-PAL PROJECT TO TEACH WRITING SKILL OF RECOUNT TEXT AT THE EIGHT CLASS OF SMP NASRANI 1 MEDAN

Abstract

The purpose of this study to determine the implementation of the pen pal project in teaching recount text writing skills to eighth grade students. Moreover, this study also intends to determine students' responses to the learning strategy after the implementation of correspondence with their pen pals. This research used descriptive qualitative. The subject of this study was eighth grade students of SMP Nasrani 1 Medan. This study used an observation sheet to observe the implementation of a letter with pen pals in the learning and teaching process, for more accurate data, researchers distributed questionnaire sheets to students to find out the responses of students and conducted interviews with teachers of English studies on the implementation of the pen pal project. The results of this study indicate that exchanging letters with pen pals can trigger students' enthusiasm and desire to learn to write, especially writing recount texts. The results of this study also show that students can communicate effectively in English to express their ideas and thoughts about certain topics they like in their letters based on experiences they have experienced in the past. The students approved that using the pen pal project could help them to improve their writing abilities.