Students’ Speaking Ability on YouTube Video Project in Online Class during Covid19 Pandemic at Universitas Asahan

In language learning, the learners need to acquire the knowledge of some skills such as speaking, writing, listening, and reading. Among the four skills, speaking is said to be a very important skill. It is a productive skill that people use for communication and used by the language learner more frequently in their activities. During this covid-19 situation, the teaching and learning process has changed from tradition classrooms into virtual classrooms. The teacher’s creativity in using learning media should be optimized to get all the students engaged in the learning process. This paper aimed to analyze students’ speaking ability on YouTube based video project in online speaking class during covid19 pandemic. The participants of this study were the third year of English Department students of Universitas Asahan 2019/2020 academic year and 19 students were chosen as the samples. This study belongs to descriptive research. The researcher took the sample by using purposive sampling. The data came from the students’ final assignment in speaking class in form of short drama. The students’ speaking performance videos were used for measuring the students’ speaking ability. Four videos had been analyzed based on Harris in Depdiknas proficiency descriptions. It consists of pronunciation, structure, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. Having regard to the conclusions, this study showed that the majority of students’ speaking ability was in good level (75,16%). However, mastering grammar and fluency became the most influencing factors in improving their ability in speaking based on the data gathered. It means that by uploading their video project on YouTube can be more excellent if the students mastering all aspects of speaking while doing conversation in English, so that their speaking may improve.