CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

This chapter consists of the background of the study, reasons for choosing the topic, statements of the problems, objectives of the study, significances of the study, definition of terms, and outline of the study. Each part will be explained as follows.

1.1 Background of the Study

English is a special language. What makes English special is not how it is the language with the largest number of native or first language speakers, but how it has become a Lingua Franca. A Lingua Franca can be defined as a language widely adopted for communication between two speakers whose native languages are different from each others and where one or both speakers are using it as a second language. (Harmer 2001: 1). Hence, a Lingua Franca is a language used as a second language usually for trading purposes.

Down to language learning in general, English Learning in Indonesia has four main skills that are taught to students in schools. They are listening, speaking, reading and writing. Each skill is very important. In fact, they are related one another. Students are required to master the four skills. Writing is among the most important skills that second language students need to develop. However, in many cases, language learners have difficulty in writing activities. They find it hard to create a passage, let alone a text.