IMPROVING SPEAKING SKILL OF THE SEVENTH-GRADE STUDENTS OF SMPN 1 KUTA SELATAN IN THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2024/2025 THROUGH THREE-STEP INTERVIEW

Speaking is one of the skills that students must master to communicate in English so they are able to express ideas, thoughts, feelings and share information. However, there are several problems experienced by students in junior high school in learning English, especially in speaking, including their fluency, comprehension, and grammatical error. The objective of the present study was mainly intended to find out whether speaking skill of the seventh-grade students of SMPN 1 Kuta Selatan in the academic year 2024/2025 could be improved through Three-Step Interview through classroom action research. To achieve the objective of the present study, the researcher collected the required data using tests and a questionnaire. The results of the pre-test clearly showed that the subjects’ pre- existing speaking ability were low 43.09. Then, the researcher applied Three-Step Interview to increase their speaking ability. The post-tests were administered at the end of each cycle. The results of the post-post in cycle I and cycle II were 64.72 and 80.06. The significant different figured that cycle II was more effective than cycle I. Moreover, to collect the additional supporting data, the researcher administered the questionnaire at the end of cycle II. It showed that their motivation and attitude changed positively after the implementation of Three-Step Interview. Based on the results of the pre-test, post-tests, and questionnaire, it could be concluded that speaking skill of the seventh-grade students of SMPN 1 Kuta Selatan in the academic year 2024/2025 can be improved through Three-Step Interview.