Abstrak
WULANDARI, NIM 1930104073, Thesis, entitled: “Students’ Perception Toward Storytelling Activities in English Day to Improve Their Speaking Ability at UIN Mahmud Yunus Batusangkar.” English Teaching Department, Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teacher Training, UIN Mahmud Yunus Batusangkar. The problem of this research is the insufficient information regarding students’ perceptions of storytelling activities in English Day at UIN Mahmud Yunus Batusangkar. The purpose of this research is to find out students’ perceptions toward storytelling activitie in English Day to improve their speaking ability. The method of this research is qualitative research with descriptive design. There were 8 informants in this research who participated in storytelling activities in English Day program using purposive sampling technique. The instrument of this research is the researcher her self as the main instrument and the researcher needed the interview guide as a supporting instrument. The techniques of data collection in this research were in-depth interview and used other supporting tools such as interview guide and smartphone to record conversations with voice note on WhatsApp during interview. To test the validity of the data, the researcher used triangulation that is member checking. Furthermore, to analyze the data, the researcher used data reduction, data display, drawing conclusion and verification. The results showed that there were several students’ perceptions toward storytelling activities in English Day to improve their speaking ability, the perceptions were: 1) increasing confidence in speaking, 2) improving in fluency and pronunciation, 3) speaking anxiety and hesitation, 4) observational learning from peers, 5) challenges and strategies, 6) positive perceptions of storytelling, and 7) students’ suggestions for improvement in storytelling activities in English Day program.