It is also supported by Doyle Dye 2002:10 who focus on the essential of using the visual input techniques because most of the learners with hearing
difficulty are less attentive, easily discouraged and come out less confident in the classroom than the normal learners. These learners are easily fatigued when
learning due to the efforts they need to do. As the consequence, the increased fatigue levels make these learners’ behaviors more irritable in the classroom. For
this reason, the English language learning of the learners with hearing difficulty becomes slow. Therefore, computerized games using visual input techniques may
play a basic role in enhancing leaning through visualization, experimentation and creativity of play which become fundamentals the effective teaching for the
learners with hearing difficulty Betz, 1995:34. In addition, learning language can be more interesting through using
educational games as teaching aids El-Harbi, 2009:34. As a result, computerized educational games, a combination between educational games and computer,
began entering the classrooms as a prominent topic in teaching learners with hearing difficulty. Li 2007:87 defines the computerized educational games as
instructional activities are based on entertainment, competition and reinforcement while presenting a superficial or simulated reality. The uniqueness of computer
games in English learning in terms of moving pictures and relevant stories related to daily life, and the possibility to apply it outside school hours make learning
process become more interesting and challenging to do. Langran Purcell 1994:43 see that the teachers should know that explanations and examples can
be enlivened by varieties of educational games. Bennett 1987:79 concludes that
when learners use computerized educational games in the class, they will motivate the learners to finish the given tasks, even when the process required long periods
of time. These considerations later focused my mind in helping the learners with
hearing difficulty in SLB B Wiyata Dharma I Tempel Yogyakarta to enhance their English learning with computerized educational games. Against the learning
methods applying nowadays for marginalized learners, the need of this research is apparent.
1.2 Problem Limitation
Pointed towards highly the visual input techniques, the study used a computerized educational game as one of the visual input techniques to help
children with hearing difficulty to develop aspects of English. The game does not only bring the visual input for the learners, but also a direct way in teaching the
learners. So, the researcher used a certain computerized games to develop English for children with hearing difficulty.
Despite the importance of using a computerized game in the classroom for children with hearing difficulty, using them is not the main challenge. Nielsen
2006:80 shows that the real challenge for using computerized games in teaching and learning language for children with hearing difficulty is where computerized
games can give a better learning experience language. This study is along with Berent, et al. 2007:200 that the roots of the
challenge are emanating from the lack of empirical classroom researches in
teaching English for the learners with hearing difficulties. In other words, it is considered that the real challenge is in the effective use of the computerized
games on developing English for young learners with hearing difficulty. Meanwhile, in SLB B Wiyata Dharma I Tempel Yogyakarta, technology has not
been used yet for all levels of learners during the existing limitations. To enhance children with hearing difficulty’ acquisition of English and to
increase their motivation for learning English, this study attempts to examine the use of a computerized educational game as one of the reflections of the visual
input in the field of teaching young learners with hearing difficulty. In the current study, the enhancement of using a computerized educational
game to develop English for children with hearing difficulty is examined. In addition, there is no study in Indonesia that tackled the use of computer games for
teaching English for young learners with hearing difficulty in SLB B Wiyata Dharma I Tempel Yogyakarta. However, in the case of educational research, the
game used was contextually made educational through the engagement between the participants and the researcher.
1.3 Previous Related Studies
This part elaborates the previous studies similar to this study. There are three fields of discussion concerned to differentiate the studies. The first one dealt
with studies that examined the effectiveness of using computerized educational games in teaching English language. The second field is related to the studies
which investigated the effect of using computerized educational games in teaching
other school subjects. The last field of the discussion engaged in studies that examined the effects of using computers in teaching English language and other
school subjects for learners with hearing difficulty. The first study of computer games use in teaching English Language for
the ordinary students that will be discussed was conducted by Palmberg 1988
who investigated the effect of playing computer games on learning English
vocabulary for Swedish-speaking in elementary level and discuss the role of computer games as a technique used to teach English in Finland. This study shows
that computer games help students to learn new English vocabulary at their own pace, depending on how they are focused on the learning. Another study presented
by Lim 2005 was on the effect of English reading instruction with the application of computer games for the 4
th
grade learners compared to the traditional method in China. The result of this study showed that learners who
experienced more reading materials could improve their English language better than those who were just controlled. Therefore, this study reveals that reading
skill in learning English language can be improved by using computer games if suitable techniques and materials are well-prepared. Following Lim, Yu 2005
carried out a study in Japan about the effect of grammar-based instruction computer games on learners’ motivation and classroom atmosphere. From this
study, it was shown that after using computer games, the learners were more learner-centered and improved their accuracy in grammar. The next study also
examined similar discussion. Hamzah and Dourad 2009 did the study on the effects of using computer games in teaching grammar, particularly present simple
tense and past simple tense. They also aimed to gain imminent of the teachers and learners in Malaysia when using computer games in teaching and learning
grammar. This study recommended that using computer games on learning grammar can be an effective way. Different from the previous studies, Kablan
2009 intended to observe if using computer-game-based exercises increased the learners’ performance and academic achievement among 1
st
and 2
nd
graders. The study showed that the academic achievement enhanced as a result of using
computer games which facilitate the learning process. The other field of study is teaching other school subjects for ordinary
students with computer games. Apparently computer games are used not only for learning English language, but also for learning other subjects. One of them is for
treating reading disabilities. The study was conducted by Al-Helih dan Ghuneem 2002 who examined the impacts of computerized and ordinary linguistic
educational games in treating reading abilities for the 4
th
grade of elementary school learners in two private schools in Amman. The study revealed that learners
showed that learning reading using computerized games was more effective than ordinary games. Another school subject using computerized educational games is
mathematics. Neimeyer 2006 intended to find out if the use of computerized
educational games has an effect on the mathematics achievement of the learners of the seventh grade in Texas. Meanwhile, Tuzun, et al. 2008 tried to observe
the effect of using computer games on Turkey’s primary school learners’ achievement and motivation in learning geography. The result showed that the
computer games were effective instruments for learners to improve their
achievement and motivation for both in mathematics concepts and in effective geography learning.Therefore, it is even convincing that computerized educational
games are great help for learners with hearing ability to learn English language. The fun the learners get from playing the games motivate the learners to know
more about what they learn. The other area of related researches is teaching English Language with
computer games for learners with hearing difficulty. Related to this study, there were some studies similar to this study conducted in the same field, which is using
computerized educational games in teaching English language for learners with hearing difficulty. Fogel 1990 examined the effectiveness of computerized
educational games called the Yes-No game in order to overcome the difficulties of formation Yes -No Questions for the deaf students. Meanwhile Melon 1991
continued the study by conducting a Question Game study. The purpose was to explore the effectiveness of highly visually-oriented Computer as Assisted
Instruction C.A.I for teaching syntax to learners with hearing difficulty. In this study, Melon used Yes-No Game and WH-Game. Both studies show that the
games may help the learners to learn and memorize simple grammar and assist the teacher to adapt teaching with new technique. Another study by El-Dosoqi 2003
investigated the effect of electronic educational games to help the learners with hearing difficulty to look toward the individual differences. This study focuses on
the characteristics of the games and the criteria of the use. The result concluded that the unique characteristics of the learners were not a matter for the teacher to
use computerized educational games in teaching. Furthermore, this study
