The background of this research is based on the principle that every human being has a right to education. It is means that all people should get education, including students with special needs. One of the examples is students with mental retardation. One of the lessons needed by students is English lesson. English is taught in almost educational level, from elementary school (SD) until university. For the students with special needs, including retarded students, English lesson is also very important to face the globalization era. Students with mental retardation are students who have sub-normal IQ. A great challenge will be faced by student with mental retardation on their use of English. In order to make the EFL teaching and learning process run efficiently, the teacher should choose the suitable method and media to teach students with mental retardation. The appropriate method and media hopefully can make the students easier in understanding material.
This research is aimed to find out the following research questions: (1) What methods are used in teaching English for mentally retarded students at SMALB-C YPAC Semarang? (2) What media are used in teaching English for mentally retarded students at SMALB-C YPAC Semarang? (3) What are the obstacles factors in EFL teaching and learning process of mentally retarded students at SMALB-C YPAC Semarang?
The kind of this research is qualitative field research by using descriptive method research. It is conducted at SMALB-C YPAC Semarang. The participant of this study is the eleventh grade students with mental retardation that consist of eight students. Techniques of data collection used by the researcher are observation, interview and documentation. All of data are analyzed using descriptive qualitative analysis.
Based on the data obtained, the researcher got the result that the method of EFL teaching and learning process for mental retardation students at eleventh grade in SMALB-C YPAC Semarang applied are Grammar Translation Method (GTM), Direct Method and Silent Way. The media used by the teacher in EFL teaching and learning for the eleventh grade students with mental retardation in SMALB-C YPAC Semarang is pictures and cards. While the obstacles faced by the teacher in EFL teaching and learning process at eleventh grade students with mental retardation are; there is no special book for mentally retarded students as special students from Education Department which can be used in EFL teaching and learning process. Besides, the teacher realize that she is not really master the English materials. Another obstacle comes from the inadequate classroom for students with mental retardation. The classroom used for teaching and learning process is too small and it makes the pleasant atmosphere did not materialized there.