Based on the commercialized game of the same name, this involves students guessing word from drawings. They work in team,
each member of team taking turns to be the „artist‟. If there are three teams, f
or example, the three „ artists‟ go to the front of the class where the teacher shows them a word on a card. At the cue, they quickly return
to their group and try to get their group team to guess correctly earns a point, and three new „artists‟ have turn with another word. At the end of
game, groups can use the pictures as memory prompts in order to recall and write down the expressions that came up in the game, and then to put
them into a sentence to show what they mean.
i. Word Race
The class is divided into teams and each team is given a board marker pen. The board is divided into as many sections as there are
teams. The teacher or a specially appointed student says a word from word cards
in the students‟ language, and the first team to get the correct English translation on the board earns a point. The game continues for as
many words as it is felt necessary to review.
From some activities that the writer has mentioned above, she chooses association game because based on the educational integrated curriculum-
kurikulum tingkat satuan pendidikan, students should not only be able to recognize the meaning of the words, but they also can apply the words into
sentences, it will make the words meaningful for the students.
3. The Advantages and disadvantages of Using Word Cards
a. The Advantages
Students can get many advantages by using word cards in enriching their vocabularies, such as
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; a.
Word cards can give a sense of progress and a sense of achievement, particularly if numerical targets are set and met.
b. Word cards are readily portable and can be used in idle
moments in or out of class either for learning new words or for revising old ones.
c. Word cards can be specifically made suit to particular learners
and their needs and are thus self-motivating. d.
Word cards are learning tool for use at any level of vocabulary proficiency.
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Norbert Schmitt and Michael McCarthy, Vocabulary: Description, Acquisition, and Pedagogy Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,1997 ,p. 10
e. Learning from word cards will usually involve repetition of the
same material because the cards themselves do not change from one repetition to another. However, learners can change the
way they process the cards by thinking of new sentences containing word, applying new mnemonic techniques, thinking
of new instantiations of the word and imagining context.
f. When words are met in reading and listening or used in
speaking and writing, the generativeness of the context will influence learning. That is, if the words occur in new sentence
context in the reading text, learning will be helped.
Word cards technique is really helpful for reinforcing students‟ memorization, the teacher does not only give the students words, then ask
them to memorize, because it will cause the students easily forget. As the writer mentions above, that word cards are portable,
students can review them wherever and whenever. In addition, word cards can be adjusted based on students level. Using word cards also
includes repetition, which is an important aid in learning and students can actively recall the words.
b. The Disadvantages of Using Word Cards
Using word cards has some advantages that the writer has explained above, however, some teaching techniques have the weakness, and so
does using word cards, it has some disadvantages
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. a.
Using word cards is an outdated method of learning and it is not agreement with communicative approach to language teaching.
b.It should not be assumed that learning from word cards means that the words are learned forever.
c. Using word cards does not mean that all knowledge of a word
has been learned, even though it can be designed to include a wide range of information about a word.
Teaching vocabulary through word cards needs the patience of teacher, shehe should be patient to ask the students review their
vocabulary if teacher does not encourage them to check their cards, they
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Norbert Schmitt and Michael McCarthy, Vocabulary: Description, Acquisition, and Pedagogy................................p.12
have chance to forget their memorized vocabulary, more over for lazy students.
Some English teaching experts regard that word cards technique is an out of date method; it does not require the students learn English
communicatively; it is not being used in communicative purpose. Today, in Indonesia, the students need to learn English language
communicatively; students must be able to express, interact each other through English language, understand the reading passage, meanwhile,
word cards do not give all of what students need.
