Improving Personal Letter Writing Skills Using The Think Pair Share Model for Students of State Middle School 2 Pontianak

Abstract

   This research was conducted because the ability of class VII H students of SMPN 2 Pontianak in writing personal letters is still low. This is caused by difficulties in understanding language structures, the influence of instant messaging culture that affects the use of punctuation, and lack of learning motivation due to less varied teaching methods. This two-cycle classroom action research aims to explain the improvement in these abilities by using a cooperative model in the form of Think Pair Share (TPS). The research subjects were 32 students. Data were obtained through observations, learning achievement tests, and interviews, then analyzed using quantitative and qualitative methods. The research shows a significant improvement in student learning outcomes. Before the cycle began, the average class score was 72.34 and the completion rate reached 56.25% with 18 students successfully completing the task. After implementing TPS in the first cycle, the average class score increased to 77.03 with a classical completion rate of 71.87% which included 23 students who successfully completed the task. Students' abilities reached their peak in Cycle II with an average score of 84.00 and a completion rate of 100% (all 32 students successfully completed the course). Positive changes also occurred in classroom activities; the teacher acted as an interactive facilitator, while students were more active, bold in expressing their opinions, and able to make their own improvements to pronunciation and language logic. The application of the TPS model greatly helped improve the ability to write personal letters and also prevented the decline in language structure in the digital era for class VII H students of SMPN 2 Pontianak.