vocabulary and recognize it works is always exciting for the teachers.
7
It means that mastering vocabulary should be interesting and satisfying for both teacher
and students. The English teacher has to think a suitable way, subject material and how to apply it in classroom. Teacher must have a fun and creative strategy to
teach vocabulary that can make students have interest and pay attention in vocabulary mastery.
Considering that situation, the writer gave a solution to increase the students’ vocabulary mastery for the second grade students of SMP Puspita
Bangsa Ciputat, so later the students will able to mastery English well. The solution is by using crossword puzzle game. Crossword puzzle game offers a
challenge that will motivate the students to try to fulfill the puzzle. It gives much opportunity for the students to practice and repeat the sentences pattern and
vocabulary. Certainty, the crossword puzzle game is a kind of game that will makes the teaching-learning process more attractive than before. The students will
feel fun, relaxed and enjoyable, and they will memorize the vocabulary in different way, that is by rewriting them.
This study is important to be done because it hopefully can give many benefits to English teacher, students and the other researcher. The writer expects
this study can solve the teacher’s problem in teaching vocabulary and give the appropriate strategy in teaching vocabulary. The researcher hopes this study can
help students in vocabulary mastery. To other researcher, the writer hopefully can give information about vocabulary and crossword puzzle game.
To sum up, the writer wants to propose a technique that hopefully can improve the students’ vocabulary mastery. The proposed technique is crossword
puzzle game towards students’ vocabulary mastery with the title “THE
EFFECTIVENESS OF
CROSSWORD PUZZLE
GAME TOWARDS
STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY MASTERY”
7
Evelyn Hatch and Cheryl Brown, Vocabulary, Semantics, and Language Education, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995, p. 372.
B. Identification of the Problem
From the background of the study above, it can be identified some problems:
1. Students get difficulty in understanding text from their student’s book. 2. Students get difficulty in answering the question based on the text from
their student’s book. 3. Students get low score in English test.
C. Limitation of the Study
In order to avoid misunderstanding and to clarify the study, it is necessary to make the limitation of the study. The writer limits the study in vocabulary
mastery and it will be taught toward crossword puzzle game at the second grade students of SMP Puspita Bangsa Ciputat. The vocabulary that the students have to
be mastered is based on theme of the student’s book: It’s Time to Holiday and My Dear Friend.
D. Formulation of the Problem
According to the limitation of the problem above, the writer formulates the research problem
“is crossword puzzle game effective in vocabulary mastery at the second grade of SMP Puspita Bangsa Ciputat?”
E. Objective of the Study
The objective of the study is to find out whether the crossword puzzle game is effective toward vocabulary mastery at second grade of SMP Puspita Bangsa
Ciputat or not.
F. Significance of the Study
The result of the study is expected to provide useful information about the effectiveness of crossword puzzle game toward students’ vocabulary mastery at
the second grade students of SMP Puspita Bangsa Ciputat. It is expected that the findings can contribute to the group of people, they are:
1. For English teacher It gives the alternative technique in vocabulary mastery, especially
using crossword puzzle game. It is also help the teacher to increase students’ score in English test.
2. For students This study assists them to solve their problem in vocabulary mastery
and enrich their vocabulary. It is also expected to be a useful input to help the students’ to improve their score in English test.
3. For further research For the further research who are interested in doing research about
vocabulary at Junior High School level can get the basic information about the use of crossword puzzle game. Moreover, they can apply crossword
puzzle game for other English material.
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
A. Vocabulary
The first thing that we are hoped in learning a new language is having vocabulary because it is one element that links the four skills; speaking, listening,
reading and writing altogether. In order to communicate well in a language, students are hoped acquire a sufficient number of words and need to know how to
use them accurately. Without having enough vocabularies, communication will end up in unpleasant situation and make the students reluctant to continue their
sentence or idea. In the other words, vocabulary is a basic of language and it is very
important to be mastered. We cannot speak well and understand written materials if we do not master it. Everyone cannot master a language if heshe does not learn
vocabulary and expression of word has meaningful way in communication, like Schmitt stated, one of necessary skill of language is vocabulary. If we do not
understand it, we cannot speak well. By lacking words, the interaction in other language cannot be done no matter how successfully the sound of the foreign
language is mastered.
1
Moreover, Scott Thornburry stated that ability in using the language will not be improved if the concern of study is only on grammar without practice in
other skill. On the other side, if the concern is more on words and expressions, the ability in using the language can be improved.
2
It means that more vocabulary will make someone be better in communication.
In conclusion, students cannot practice or build that language if they are lack of vocabulary because vocabulary is the key to students understanding what
they hear and read i]kn school and to communicate successfully with other people. For this reason it is very important for the students to quickly build up a large
store of words.
1
Norbert Schmitt and Michael Mc Cartney, Vocabulary in Language Teaching, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000, p. 5.
2
Scott Thornbury, How to Teach Vocabulary, Oxford University Press, 2002, p. 13.
1. The Definition of Vocabulary
There are many definitions can be found about vocabulary from some experts, but the writer only choose several of them which are important to
discuss. According to Laurie Bauer, vocabulary is the words concern of the original of the words e.g. cable from Arabic word of habl or cartoon from
Italian word of cartone, the change of the words e.g. verb + ion becomes noun: act + ion = action or verb + ive becomes adjective: collect + ive =
collective, the relation of the word e.g. hyponym: apple-fruit, car-vehicle, cow-animal and the application of the word in daily life. All of us have been
using word to know what someone desires and to express our desire to others since we were about a year old.
3
It is explains that vocabulary is truly the main component of language that will help us to communicate well although in
several situations we will need another component like meaning, pronunciation and grammar put together in use.
Penny Ur said the words that are taught in foreign language defined as vocabulary.
4
In other words, Ur illustrated if we teach a new words in a foreign language that is a vocabulary. For example, today SDN 07 Pagi will
learn English about stationeries. Stationeries include paper, pencil, pen, ruler, eraser, book, table, etc. Those words about stationeries are called vocabulary.
Moreover, Hatch and Brown described vocabulary is a tool that have been using by someone to communicate with other people.
5
In this sense, vocabulary is an important part for the individual person to share their idea or
their willingness to the others. From all the definitions given above, we know that some experts have
difference ideas in giving the definition of vocabulary, because every person has different ways in expressing and showing their ideas. However, it can be
concluded from those definition above that vocabulary is a set of words which
3
Laurie Bauer, Vocabulary, Routledge: London and New York, 1998, p. VIII.
4
Penny Ur, A Course in Language Teaching Practice and Theory, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996, p. 60.
5
Evelyn Hatch and Cheryl Brown, Vocabulary, Semantic and Language Education, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995, p. 1.
