IMPROVING STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY MASTERY THROUGH BOARD GAMES (A Classroom Action Research at the Fourth Grade of SDN Cengklik II Surakarta in 2009 2010 Academic Year)
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i THESIS
I
IMMPPRROOVVIINNGG SSTTUUDDEENNTTSS’’ VVOOCCAABBUULLAARRYY MMAASSTETERRYY TTHHRROOUUGGHH B
BOAOARRDD GGAAMMEESS
(A Classroom Action Research at the Fourth Grade of SDN Cengklik II Surakarta in 2009/2010 Academic Year)
By: LARASATI
K2206021
This thesis is submitted to fulfill the requirement for Undergraduate Degree in English Education Department Teacher Training and Education Faculty
ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION FACULTY
SEBELAS MARET UNIVERSITY SURAKARTA
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ii ABSTRACT
Larasati. K2206021. IMPROVING STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY MASTERY THROUGH BOARD GAMES (AN ACTION RESEARCH OF FOURTH GRADE STUDENTS OF SD N CENGKLIK II SURAKARTA IN 2009/2010 ACADEMIC YEAR). Teacher Training and Education Faculty, Sebelas Maret University, Surakarta 2011.
This research is an action research. It aims to find out whether board games can improve the vocabulary mastery of the fourth grade students of SD Negeri Cengklik II Surakarta. It also identifies the phenomenon takes place when board games are employed in teaching and learning vocabulary. Moreover, this study has purposes to find out the strengths and the weaknesses of board games in teaching and learning process.
The research is conducted in two cycles. There are three meetings in the first cycle and two meetings in the second cycle. Each cycle consists of four steps, planning, implementation, evaluation, and reflection. Techniques in collecting the data are qualitative and quantitative method. In qualitative method, the writer used observational and non-observational techniques. Observational techniques consist of direct observations, field notes, and photographs, while non-observational techniques consist of interviews and document analyze. The results of the observation are in the form of field notes, interviews and photographs. The result of qualitative data is analyzed by using Constant Comparative Method (CCM). In quantitative method, the writer used tests. The test consists of pre-test and post-test. The technique to analyze the tests result is by comparing the score of pre-test and post-test. The mean score of each test was quantitatively analyzed to find out the improvement of students’ vocabulary mastery after the research action.
The results of this research show that board games can improve students’ vocabulary mastery. The improvement can be seen in the form of students’ behaviour and students’ score. The students become more active in teaching and learning process. The improvement of students’ score can be seen from the differences between pre-test and post-test. The mean score of pretest is 5.82 and it improves to 6.72 in post test 1 and it also improves to 7.50 in the post-test 2. There is also weakness in using board games, board games usually played in group so sometimes it is hard to get individual mark for the student. But through board games, students get better understanding in the meaning of vocabulary. They also get less difficulty in pronunciation and spelling.
The result of the research implies that one of the appropriate techniques to teach vocabulary is board games. Through board games, teacher can deliver material in an easy and interesting way, so the students become more active in teaching and learning process.
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iii ABSTRAK
Larasati. K2206021. PENINGKATAN PENGUASAAN KOSAKATA BAHASA INGGRIS SISWA MELALUI PERMAINAN PAPAN (PENELITIAN TINDAKAN KELAS TERHADAP SISWA KELAS EMPAT SD N CENGKLIK II SURAKARTA TAHUN AKADEMIK 2009/2010). Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, UniversitasSebelas Maret, Surakarta 2011.
Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian tindakan kelas yang bertujuan untuk mengetahui apakah permainan papan dapat meningkatkan penguasaan kosakata bahasa inggris para siswa kelas empat SD N Cengklik II, Surakarta. Penelitian ini juga bertujuan untuk mengidentifikasi fenomena yang terjadi di dalam pembelajaran kosakata bahasa inggris yang menggunakan permainan papan. Disamping itu, penelitian ini juga bertujuan untuk mengetahui kelebihan dan kekurangan penerapan permainan papan dalam proses pembelajaran.
Penelitian dilaksanakan dalam dua siklus. Siklus I sebanyak tiga pertemuan dan siklus II sebanyak dua pertemuan. Setiap siklus terdiri dari empat tahap: perencanaan, implementasi, evaluasi, dan refleksi. Pengumpulan data dlakukan dengan menggunakan metode kualitatif dan kuantitatif. Metode kualitatif yang dipakai adalah teknik observasional dan non-observasional. Teknik observasional terdiri dari observasi langsung, catatan lapangan, dan foto, sedangkan teknik non-observasional meliputi wawancara dan analisa dokumen. Hasil observasi disajikan dalam bentukcatatan lapangan, wawancara, dan foto. Data kualitatif selanjutnya dianalisis menggunakan metode perbandingan tetap. Sementara itu, metode kuantitatif yang dipakai adalah tes, yang terdiri dari pre-tes dan post-tes. Nilai rata-rata dianalisis secara kuantitatif untuk mengetahui peningkatan penguasaan kosakata bahasa inggris siswa setelah pelaksanaan penelitian.
Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa permainan papan dapat meningkatkan penguasaan kosakata bahasa inggris siswa. Peningkatan ini dapat dilihat dari sikap dan nilai siswa. Para siswa menjadi lebih aktif selama proses pembelajaran. Penigkatan nilai siswa tampak pada perbedaan antara nilai pre-tes dan post-tes. Rata-rata nilai pre-tes adalah 5,82, yang meningkat menjadi 6,72 pada post-tes 1 dan 7,50 pada post-tes 2. Penggunaan permainan papan ini juga memiliki kelemahan. Karena permainan dilakukan secara berkelompok kadang-kadang sulit untuk menentukan nilai perseorangan siswa. Namun demikian, melalui permainan ini, siswa dapat lebih memahami arti kata-kata. Kesulitan siswa dalam pelafalan dan ejaan juga berkurang.
Hasil penelitian ini mengimplikasikan bahwa salah satu teknik yang tepat untuk mengajar kosakata bahasa inggris adalah permainan papan. Melalui jenis permainan ini, guru dapat menyampaikan materi dengan cara yang mudah dan menarik sehingga siswa menjadi lebih aktif dalam proses pembelajaran.
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vi MOTTO
“Fight to work for your present world as if you would live endlessly, and do your best for the hereafter as if you would die tomorrow”
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vii DEDICATION
This thesis is dedicated to:
1. My beloved Babe and Ma’e, you are my everything
2. My beloved mbak Titik, you are the greatest sister in the whole world. Thanks for being my sister
3. My adorable little sister and brother, Dini and Tia, thanks for the love and prayers 4. All of my best friends in English
Department ’06.
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viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Alhamdulillahirobbil’alamin. All praise and thanks are only for Allah SWT, The Almighty God that gives His blessing and His help so the writer can finish her thesis.
The writer realizes that this thesis could not be achieved without the help and assistance from others. Therefore, in this occasion the writer would give her appreciation to the individuals and institutions who have given their help during the process of writing so that this thesis is finally finished. She would like to express her deepest gratitude to the following:
1. Prof. Dr. M. Furqon Hidayatullah, M.Pd, the Dean of Teacher Training and Education Faculty.
2. Drs. Suparno, M.Pd, the Head of the Art and Language Education Department.
3. Drs. Martono, M.A, as the Head of the English Department of Teacher Training and Education Faculty
4. Dr. Sujoko, M.A, as the writer’s first consultant for his guidance and advice.
5. Endang Setyaningsih,S.Pd,M.Hum , the writer’s second consultant for her guidance and advice.
6. MGY Purwaningsih, S.Pd, the Headmaster of SD Negeri Cengklik II Surakarta for giving the chance and support in doing the research. 7. Dyah Nur Budiati, S.Pd, the English Teacher of SD Negeri Cengklik II
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ix
8. All of the students in the fourth grade of SD Negeri Cengklik II Surakarta in participating well in this research.
9. Her family for the love and prayers.
10.Her friends in the English Dept’06. Thanks for everything.
11.Last, thank you very much for everyone who had been the part of her life.
Surakarta, Januari 2011
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x
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE…. ... i
ABSTRACT PAGE………. . ii
APPROVAL PAGE……… ... iii
LEGITIMATION PAGE……….. ... iv
MOTTO PAGE……… v
DEDICATION PAGE………. . vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ……… vii
TABLE OF CONTENT……… ix
LISTS OF APPENDICES……… xi
LISTS OF TABLES ………. xii
LISTS OF FIGURES………. xiii
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study………. . 1
B. Statement of Problem... 5
C. The Objectives of the Study... 5
D. The Benefits of the Study ... 5
CHAPTER II REVIEW ON RELATED LITERATURE A. Theoritical Desription 1. Vocabulary Mastery……… . 7
a. Definitions of Vocabulary ... 7
b. Kinds of Vocabulary ... 8
c. The Importance of Vocabulary ... 11
d. The Definition of Vocabulary Mastery……… 11
e. Teaching Vocabulary... 12
f. Procedures of Teaching Vocabulary... 14
2. Games in Language Learning…. ... 17
a. Definition of Games……….. 17
b. Purpose of Language Games……… 18
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xi
d. Types of the Games……….. 20
3. Board Games……… 21
a. The Definition of Board Games……….. 21
b. Kinds of Board Games……….. 21
c. Values of Board Games………. 24
4. Teaching English for Young Learners……… 26
B. Rationale……… ... 26
C. Hypothesis……….. ... 26
CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY A. The Setting of the Research ... 27
B. The Subject of the Research ………..……….. 28
C. The Method of the Research ... 28
D. The Model of the Research... 29
E. The Technique of Collecting Data... 32
F. The Technique of Analyzing Data... 34
CHAPTER IV RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION A. Research Implementation... 36
1. Cycle 1 a. Identifying the Problems……….. 36
b. Planning the Action……….. 37
c. Implementing the Action………. 37
d. Observing and Monitoring the Action………. 43
e. Reflecting the Result of the Observation………. 46
2. Cycle 2 a. Identifying the Problems……….. 48
b. Planning the Action……….. 48
c. Implementing the Action………. 49
d. Observing and Monitoring the Action………. 52
e. Reflecting the Result of the Observation………. 54
B. Discussion ………. 55
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xii
CHAPTER V CONCLUSION, IMPLICATION AND SUGGESTIONS
A. Conclusion ……… 58
B. Implication ……… 59
C. Suggestions ……… 59
BIBLIOGRAPHY………... ... 63
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xiii LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendix 1. Syllabus ……… 67
Appendix 2. Lesson Plans……….. 73
Appendix 3. Pre-Research Observation Fieldnote……… 81
Appendix 4. List of Students’ Name……… 83
Appendix 5. Students’ Worksheets………... 84
Appendix 6. Test Result and Scoring Rubric... 94
Appendix 7. Transcript s of Interview……….. 97
Appendix 8. Fieldnotes………. 103
Appendix 9. Samples of Students’ Test Worksheet………. 130
Appendix 10. Photographs……….. 148
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xiv
LIST OF TABLE
Table 1. Table of kinds of vocabulary usage……… 11
Table 2. Standar Kompetensi dan Kompetensi Dasar SD……… 68
Table 3. List of Student’s Names………. 83
Table 4. Vocabulary Test Result……… 94
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xv
LIST OF FIGURE
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
There are many elements in language, one of them is vocabulary. Nowadays, people concern vocabulary as important element of language. As what Zimmer Man stated (in James Coady: 1997), vocabulary is considered one of the most important aspects of second language learning and priority was placed on developing a scientific and rational basis for selecting the vocabulary content of language courses
Learning vocabulary is important because to be able to speak, write, and listen we have to know adequate vocabulary first. Peoples across the world have the strong feelings that the lack of vocabulary mastery can impede the process of English learning. They found problems in learning language that related to the lack of vocabulary. The problems are: 1) cannot speak English fluently, 2) easy to forget new words learned recently, 3) tend to use the same idiomatic expressions to express different sort of things, 4) sometimes it is hard to find the correct word to say (Thornbury, 2002:13). There are also other problems occurs related to the lack of vocabulary mastery as quoted from Handayani’s thesis (2009), the problems are: 1) the problems in catching words or sentences which were said, 2) the problems in understanding meaning of words.
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The importance of learning vocabulary inspires the Indonesian government to improve English learning system especially in vocabulary. This quotation below suggests that English should be given to the students of elementary level: “
…..memilih dan menerapkan bahasa Inggris sebagai mata pelajaran muatan local pilihan kabupaten untuk sekolah dasar. Untuksementara diberikan di kelas IV, V, VI “. ( GBPP Muatan Lokal Bhs. Inggris,2004 ).
Despite the attention given to English language learning by the government, there are still some problems found in English language learning. These problems also happen to the students of SD Negeri Cengklik II Surakarta. It can be seen from the mark the students get on the last semester examination. The mean of their mark in the last semester examination is 5.82. It is considered as bad mark, because the passing grade of the students in this school is 5.
The phenomenon above might be caused by various things. Based on the interview with the teacher herself, she said that in the teaching and learning process she usually gives a list of words that should be found the meaning by the students in limited time. Normally, it is hard for people to learn new thing (in this case new words) in such of limited time by only consulting to a dictionary. From the pre-research observation it can be seen that students felt bored with the teacher’s technique in delivering material. They saw English lesson as something difficult and boring. Sometimes they did not pay attention to the lesson. They played with other students or sometimes they did nothing. Then, the students found difficulties in pronouncing, spelling, and understanding new vocabularies.
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It seemed that they really found difficulties to remember and grasp the meaning of words easily.
Besides, in this elementary school as most elementary schools in Indonesia, English language learning is given to students once a week with only 60 minutes for each meeting. It is not sufficient considering English is a foreign language not the native language of the students.
To solve this kind of problems, it is a need to give treatments to students that will make them enjoy the vocabulary learning and learn it fast.
In this research the writer tried to give certain method which is teaching vocabulary through board game. But why it is game? As purposed by Scott (February, 2009) there are some areas can be improved by practicing game. First,
Cognitive: Games can assist memory, problem-solving, deduction and planning
skills. Second, Language: Many games can improve vocabulary skills. Third,
Math: Children can practice counting, learn to recognize number and engage in
math with game play. Forth, Social: Games with multiple players encourage social skills and communication skills. The preset rules also teach children how to share with others, take turns and win in a fair competition or loose without a tantrum. Fifth, Motor: A number of games provide opportunities to sharpen fine and gross motor skills such as hand and eye coordination, balance and the ability to thread a shoelace. And Sixth, Sensory processing: Some games help stimulate senses such as playing with water balloons, guessing objects by touch, singing games or playing Musical Chairs may improve sensory disorders by engaging different senses during game play
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Games also help the teacher to create contexts in which the language is useful and meaningful (Wright: 1984: 1). Suyanto (2007: 117) also stated that “anak bermain karena mereka senang. Anak belajar melalui permainan. Pada saat mereka bermain bersama, anak berinteraksi satu dengan yang lain”. From this statement Suyanto want to say that beside games make a fun learning and teaching atmosphere, games also train the learners to communicate with others.
Because there are so many kinds of games based on the problems and reasons above, the writer proposes one of them as teaching techniques as the solution for the problem of learning vocabularies. The teaching technique, which is suitable to overcome the problems, is board games. Board games provide all materials needed by the students such as the exercises to improve spelling, word understanding, pronunciation, and so on. Board games can also be an alternative technique of teaching to make the students feel fun in learning English vocabularies. The teacher also gets benefits to conduct the lesson effectively.
According to Elizabeth Stover at www.ehow.com, board games improve vocabulary just by playing them. For example, scrabble and boggle (games that included to board games) are two such games that improve vocabulary because of the nature of the game. Beside the fact that board games naturally improve vocabulary, board games are cheap. You can create your own games by repurposing old game boards or creating your own using a word processing program.
Kartikadewi on her thesis at www.karya-ilmiah.um.ac.id said that board games are more effective than material memorizing because it gives chance to the
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students to learn vocabulary by knowing the real thing by pictures. Wright (1984: 81) also stated that he believes that the learners will enjoy and derive value from the board games.
Due to the facts above, the writer is interested in carrying out a study on “Improving Students’ Vocabulary Mastery through Board Games“(A Classroom Action Research at the Fourth Grade Students of SD Negeri Cengklik II, Surakarta in 2009/2010 Academic Year)
B. Statement of the Problem
1. Can board games improve student’s vocabulary mastery?
2. What happened when board games were employed in teaching vocabulary? 3. What are the strengths and the weaknesses of board games?
C. The Objectives of the Study
Generally, the study is conducted to improve the students’ vocabulary mastery at the fourth grade students of SD N Cengklik II Surakarta.
The study is conducted to get the information in some terms. First, the research is conducted to find out the ability of board games to improve students’ vocabulary mastery and whether the use of board games can improve the quality of vocabulary teaching process at the fourth grade students of SD N Cengklik II Surakarta or not. Second, the research is conducted to find out the classroom situation when board games were employed in teaching vocabulary. Third, the research is to evaluate the strengths and the weaknesses of board games in teaching vocabulary.
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D. The Benefits of the Study
The writer expects that the result of the study gives benefits for some aspect involved. The intended benefits are:
1. The writer hopes that this study gives contributions in improving the students’ vocabulary mastery. From the method used, it is expected that the students will also have great motivations to learn vocabulary using Board games. The implementation of word games in learning vocabulary could be a more fun way of effective vocabulary learning. Word games can be one of choices to play when the students need a pleasure simultaneously with learning vocabularies.
2. The teacher can use a new alternative to teach vocabulary. This study is expected will give more information about vocabulary learning to the teachers. Then, the teachers will more understand about problems and difficulties in vocabulary teaching. It can be an alternative for the teachers to solve the problems arises in teaching and learning vocabularies.
3. The school institutions can take the result of the study that is useful for formulating an appropriate method for teaching English through Board games and make an appropriate follow up based on it. The result of this research can motivate other English teachers to implement the same technique to solve the same problems in their class.
4. The writer expects that this research will give her a wider knowledge about vocabulary mastery and the way to improve it.
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5. Hopefully, the result of this study can provide a clear description about teaching vocabulary. The study may become a reference for further researches on the same topic for other researchers.
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CHAPTER II
THEORIES UNDERLYING THE STUDY
A. Theoretical Description
1. Vocabulary Mastery
a. Definition of Vocabulary
There are some experts who propose the definitions of vocabulary. Hatch and Brown (1995: 1) stated that vocabulary refers to a list of a set of words that individual speaker of a language might use. The definition given by Hatch and Brown means that there is more than one words that being used for a certain language.
Paul (1978: 1229) said that vocabulary can be defined as a list words, usually in alphabetical order and with explanations of their meanings, less complete than a dictionary.
Burns (1975: 295) also stated that vocabulary is the stock of words used by a person, a class or profession. From this definition it can be concluded that every individual use several different vocabularies.
The next definition is proposed by Ur (1996: 60). Ur says that vocabulary can be defined, roughly, as the words we teach in the foreign language. In this definition vocabulary is not the native language of the learners. Vocabulary is the words being taught in a foreign course.
From the statements above can be concluded that vocabulary refers to stocks of words that learned as foreign language by individual speakers.
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b. Kinds of Vocabulary
Notion (2008: 7) divides vocabulary into four levels on the basis of how often it occurs in the language. They are high frequency words, academic words, technical words, and low frequency words. These levels can be explained as bellow:
1) High Frequency Words
High frequency words are the most important group of words. These words occur very frequently in all kinds of use of the language. They are needed in formal and informal uses of the language.
The high frequency words of English have the following characteristics.
a) Each high frequency word occurs very often, so the effort of learning it will be repaid by plenty of opportunities to meet and use it.
b) The high frequency words are useful no matter what use is made of English.
c) Because of the frequency and wide range they make up a very large proportion of the running words in all kinds of texts and language use.
d) They are relatively small group of words that could be covered in a school program over three to five years.
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2) Academic Words
Academic words are words that are not appear in daily conversation frequently, less than 25 percent of the running words in conversation are from the academic words list, but frequent and widely used within specialized area. These words are very important for learners who will use English for academic study either in upper secondary schools or technical institutes (academic words occur in all kinds of academic subject areas like Botany, Politics, Accounting, and Family Law)
3) Technical Words
Technical words occur in more specialized area than academic words. These words are very important for anyone who specializes in a particular area. There have not been many statistical studies of technical vocabulary, but it seems that at least 20 percent of the running words in most technical texts, such as anatomy text and economics text, are likely to be technical words.
4) Low Frequency words
This last words group is the biggest group among the other three. Low frequency words are a diverse group. They include (1) words that are not quite frequent or wide range enough to be high frequency words, (2) technical words from other areas (one person’s technical vocabulary is another person’s low frequency
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vocabulary), and (3) words that just occur rarely. Low frequency words have the following characteristics.
a) Each word does not occur very often.
b) Most low frequency words have a very narrow range. They are not needed in every use of the language.
c) The low frequency words make up a very small proportion of the running words in a text.
d) They are a very large group of words.
The usage of those kinds of vocabulary above can be shown from the table below.
English has an enormous spool of vocabulary. No one, even native speakers, is able to know them all. Fortunately, we do not need to know them all in order to use English. We only need to know those that are relevant to our practical purposes.
Level Number of Words Text Coverage, % High-frequency words 2,000 87
Academic vocabulary 800 8 Technical vocabulary 2,000 3 Low-frequency words 123,200 2
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c. The importance of vocabulary
The importance of vocabulary can be shown from the statements of experts below.
"Without grammar very little can be conveyed; without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed." (Wilkins 1972:111)
"When students travel, they don't carry grammar books, they carry dictionaries." (Krashen in Lewis 1993: iii)
"The more one considers the matter, the more reasonable it seems to suppose that lexis is where we need to start from, the syntax needs to be put to the service of words and not the other way round." (Widdowsen in Lewis 1993:115)
From the statements above it is clearly shown that vocabulary is the more important than the other aspects of language and it is needed everywhere people go.
d. Vocabulary Mastery
The word mastery refers to some definitions. According to Swannel (1994: 656), mastery is comprehensive knowledge. From the definition, mastery is wide; it covers all of the elements of knowledge.
According to Bloom in Winanti (2006: 15), mastery is regarded as the ability of a student to implant the essence of the lesson given in a whole. In this definition, Bloom said that mastery comes after a complete series of teaching and learning activities.
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From those definitions above, we can conclude that vocabulary mastery is the students’ awareness of understanding stock of words learned as foreign language as the result of a complete series of teaching and learning process.
e. Teaching Vocabulary
According to Ur (1996: 60) there are six elements need to be taught in teaching vocabulary. They are, (1) Form: pronunciation and spelling; (2) Grammar; (3) Collocation; (4) Aspect of meaning: denotation, connotation, appropriateness; (5) Aspect of meaning: meaning relationship; (6) and Word formation
The approaches use to teach vocabulary mostly depends on who are the beginners and what are the teaching aims, according to www.tesol-ua.org the approaches are:
1) Use of Realia
It may be done by bringing real objects to classroom such as postcard with book, pen, schoolbag, vegetables and everything that is worth to be brought to the classroom. Even the classroom environment, such as: a chair, a table, a board, can also be used. Realia is a vital part in presenting vocabulary at the beginners’ level, where pupils learn words, using concretes.
2) Pictures
This is incredibly efficient for the reason that it facilitates the process of learning for children, since they are used in different
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ways. There are: pictures, blackboard drawings, wall pictures, charts, photos from magazines.
3) Context
Though challenging sometimes is in reality a good technique. Use the words in a real environment or context.
4) Mime and Pantomime
It may be done with the help of gestures and facial expressions and also through actions. This technique is useful for explanation of the actions and grammar items.
5) Playing
Use numerous educational games. Playing make the lesson lively and interesting.
6) Start with Irregular Verbs
Students memorize much needed words, starting with irregular verbs then nouns, adjectives and so on. Everyday at least students learnt 3 to 5 words.
7) Last Pages
Students use the last pages of their notebooks to create their own glossary, using just the words that are interesting for them or the ones that they actually want to include in their everyday vocabulary. It gives them autonomy to choose and to be more active in the process of learning.
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f. Procedures of Teaching Vocabulary
According to Cross (1991:11-13) the procedure of teaching vocabulary can be divided into three stages, they are as follows:
1) Presentation
In this stage, the teachers can use various techniques to teach vocabulary. Below are lists of method to give on presentation
according to Kwiatkowska (April, 2007).
a) Concise definition.
Definition is suitable method for upper-beginners and relies on giving the definition of given word. It can be simple, unnecessary precise and scientific definition, given by the teacher. It can be the definition from the dictionary. This is a good method in mobilization of students to the usage of dictionaries.
b) Explanation (description and example)
This is such a technique which is assigned to be utilized with upper-beginners, who already have some knowledge of English. It is essential for the teacher to bear in mind, that while explaining certain words he should use the language that is comprehensible for the students. Moreover, the information about the frequency of the word should be included.
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c) Give Illustration (pictures, objects)
This may be the most useful method in language teaching, since it can be used in different ways. Those “aids” are used to explain the meaning of words or to create a situation and concept.
d) Make Demonstration (acting, mime)
This technique is useful for explanation of the actions and grammar items. Such concepts as: jumping, smoking; are easy items to explain through performing those actions. Mime, action is a great fun for children who like acting and moving very much.
e) Synonyms
This technique relies on explanation of meaning of new word by giving other word, which students know and understand, and which means nearly the same .For example: little-small, huge-big etc. The number of synonyms appearing in textbooks is reasonable, in this way they can be introduced rather early.
f) Antonyms
In this technique teacher explains the meaning of new word, by giving its opposite, if students know the word meaning contrary feature e.g. warm -is not cold.
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g) Do Translation.
Translation is a method which is used when it allows saving the time during the explanation of new vocabulary item.
2) Practice
In this stage, the teacher gives exercises to the students in order to practice the subject items being learnt. Below are several exercises that can be used by the teacher in this stage.
a) Singing songs and playing games b) semantic field and semantic mapping c) key word method
d) vocabulary exercises e) regular review 3) Production
Production also known as revision assists the learning process, so it needs to be done regularly.
Hatch and Brown (1995: 373-390) stated that there are five essential steps in vocabulary learning:
1) Encountering new words 2) Getting the word form 3) Getting the word meaning
4) Consolidating word form and meaning in memory 5) Using the word
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Based on the statement, new vocabulary is firstly derived from the source. After getting the words, the learner can find out what the words refer to in real life by visual, auditory representation or even the combination of them. By looking the representation, the learner is expected to judge the appropriate meaning of the words. The teacher’s job in vocabulary teaching process is making a strong memory connection for both the words and meanings for her students. Using the word in a sentence is the last step for checking the students’ vocabulary mastery not only in understanding the word and its meaning but also in placing it in a proper context.
2. Games in Language Learning
a. Definition of Games
Khan in Suyanto (2007: 117) stated that “permainan adalah aktivitas yang dilakukan berdasarkan aturan tertentu”. From this definition, Khan wants to define game as an activity played with certain rules. It means that when we played game we have certain boundaries, whether it is seen or unseen.
Costikyan in Huyen & Nga (November, 2003) stated that game is a form of art in which participants; termed players, make decisions in order to manage resources through game tokens in the pursuit of a goal. In this definition Costikyan wants to say that in a game there are should be players as the master mind to achieve the goal.
In other definition from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/game.html, game is defined as a structured activity, usually undertaken for enjoyment and
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sometimes used as an educational tool. In this definition, beside it have rules, game also gives pleasure to the players and educating them in the same time.
From those definitions above it can be concluded that game is an enjoyable activity done by following certain rules to achieve the goal and sometimes it is used as an educational tool.
b. Purpose of Language Games
Wright et al at Dalton (February, 2006) said that with the use of games, the teacher can create various contexts in which students have to use the language to communicate, exchange information and express their own opinions.
Huang in Huyen & Nga (November, 2003) has the conclusion that "learning through games could encourage the operation of certain psychological and intellectual factors which could facilitate communication heightened self-esteem, motivation and spontaneity, reinforcing learning, improving intonation and building confidence."
In summary, the purpose of games is to build the confidence of the players in the learning processes.
c. Values of Games
Some experts have figured out characteristics of games that make vocabulary learning more effectively. Lee in Huyen and Nga (November, 2003) lists several main advantages when games are used in the classroom, including "a welcome break from the usual routine of the language class",
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"motivating and challenging" "effort of learning", and "language practice in the various skills." From this statement games have the values to bring relaxation and fun for students, catches student’s interest, and creates an active teaching learning process.
Wright et al in Dalton (February, 2006) stated that games help and encourage many learners to sustain their interest and work. Games also help the teacher to create contexts in which the language is useful and meaningful. Games give profits to both teachers and learners. For the teachers games help them to create context in teaching language and for the students games support them to do their hobbies or task.
According to Scott (February, 2009), there are literally hundreds of games that have been designed for children and adults today. Some of the general benefits include learning:
1) That you cannot always win 2) How to take turns
3) Team work
4) To be more patient 5) Risk taking
6) Anticipation skills 7) Memory
8) Colour and shape recognition 9) Pattern recognition
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But as well as these general benefits, there can be more specific benefits for learning that are related to other forms of learning, including:
1) Basic counting and mathematics
2) Word recognition
3) Problem solving
4) General knowledge
5) Writing (numbers and words)
In summary, games are useful and effective tools for both students and teacher, which should be applied in vocabulary classes.
d. Types of Games
According to Hadfield (1998: 4), there are two kinds of games, that is, competitive games and co-operative games. Competitive games are games where the players or teams compete to be the first to reach the goal. And co-operative games are those ones where the player or team works together towards a common goal.
3. Board Games
a. Definition of Board Games
Board game is a game in which counters or pieces are placed, removed, or moved on a pre-marked surface or "board" according to a set of rules. (www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/boardgames/html/)
Free online dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia give the definition of board games as games played on specially design board. Board games use a
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special design board as a central tool. In this board the players' status, resources, and progress are tracked using physical tokens. Many kinds of board games use dice and/or cards as tools.
From the definitions above it can be concluded that board game is a game which counters or pieces are placed, removed, or moved on a specially design board. It means that to play board games we have to use a special board made to play those games only.
b. Kinds of Board Games
There are a numbers of different kinds of board games can. There are war games, strategy games, sport games, word games, etc. but, not all of those games can improve vocabulary. According to Stucky (December, 2008) there are six board games that develop language skills, they are
1) Mad Gab-an excellent game for learning the importance of stress in words. 2) Taboo-learn to describe an action, idea, or thing using different words. 3) Cranium-develops word finding, spelling, unscrambling, and vocabulary
skills.
4) Scattergories-a game that requires you to express yourself quickly. 5) Balderdash-learn to use creative word expression.
6) Scrabble-an all time classic that builds vocabulary and spelling.
Differ from Stucky, Watcyn (1993: 7) stated that most students enjoy doing crosswords and word squares. Supports Watcyn statement Philips (1993:91) said that simple crosswords are easy to prepare and are excellent way of revising vocabulary or structure.
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Differ from others above Huntley at www.tefl.net said that the bingo game would be one of the later stages of the process of covering a language point
So, in order to follow the advice of those experts above, in this research researcher is going to use three games that the researcher consider it as the most appropriate games to teach vocabulary, the games are as follow:
1)Scrabble
Scrabble is a board game in which words are formed from letters in patterns similar to a crosswords puzzle; each letter has a value and those values are used to score the game. (wordnet.princeton.du/perl/webwn)
Another definition of scrabble from www.wiktionary.org, Scrabble is a board game in which players draw letter tiles and take turns to make interlocking words like a crossword, scoring points according to the letters played and their positions on the board. (en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Scrabble)
These are the ways to play Scrabble according to Saylor (2009). Each player lays down the wooden letters to form words, the other players can challenge if the word is spelled correctly or inquire about the words' meaning. Prefixes and suffixes can be added to a word already played on the board to gain additional points and make a new word. Each player starts with eight wooden letters and takes turns spelling words and laying them down on the game board in a crossword puzzle fashion. Points are awarded for each word spelled according to the values assigned on the letter.
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Scrabble makes the players think and think again about finding new word. In short, scrabble is a great game to play to improve vocabulary mastery
2)Bingo
Bingo is a vocabulary building game designed specifically for young and very young learners (kindergarten and early elementary grades) with a very low level of Basic English.
The games featured here are relatively simple, but clear enough for young learners to grasp quickly and challenging and exciting enough for students to maintain motivation and focus their concentration.
3)Crossword Puzzle
Crosswords are an excellent way to improve your vocabulary. They help you remember words that you have already learned, and can even help you learn new words.
Crossword puzzle is the combination of crossword and puzzle. In this game beside the blocks to put the letter there are also pictures to help students to figure the word being asked. It makes this game more interested because it is different from the usual crossword and it is full color. Young learners tend to attract to something with many colors in it.
c. Values of Board Games
The most simple and valuable thing of board games is that, once laminated, they last and can be reworked easily for different levels and situations by adding new risk cards to previous ones, upping the ante on several
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tasks or changing the language requirements of the challenge. And also the use of board games as part of school literacy can give the perceived benefits of:
1) Repetition and over-learning (i.e. the repetition of something until it becomes second nature and increases the speed of recall);
2) Incorporating some forms of repetitive learning into game situations to increase enjoyment and help concentration and time on task;
3) Providing foundational knowledge for other more complex learning.
It is very cheap, easy, and useful to use board games as an alternative method to improve vocabulary mastery.
4. Teaching English for Young Learners
Singleton (1989: 242-245) stated that there are some reasons for teaching English at primary level, namely: 1) the need to expose children from an early age to an understanding of foreign cultures so that they grow up tolerant and sympathetic to others; 2) the need to link communication to understanding of new concept; 3) the need for maximum learning time for important languages the earlier you start the more time you get; 4) the advantages of stating with early second language instruction so that the language can be used as a medium of teaching.
To help deciding material or method to give, teacher needs to know the characteristics of young learners. As proposed by Brumfit (1995: v), there are some special characteristics of young learners.
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a) Young learners are only just beginning their schooling, so that teachers have major opportunity to mould their expectations of life in school.
b) As a group they are potentially more differentiated than secondary or adult learners, for they are closer to their varied home cultures and new to the conformity increasingly imposed across cultural groupings by the school.
c) They tend to be keen and enthusiastic learners, without the inhibitions which older children sometimes bring to their schooling.
d) Their learning can be closely linked with their development of ideas and concepts, because it is so close to their initial experience of formal schooling.
e) They need physical movement and activity as much as stimulation for their thinking, and the closer together these can be the better.
Since children have those special characteristics, teaching English for them cannot be regarded similarly as teaching adult. Not all of the English teaching methods can be used to teach young learners. It should be based on their needs and characteristics.
B. Rationale
Teaching vocabulary for young learners is different to teaching vocabulary to adults. Young learners nearly hard to concentrate when attends a teaching and learning process. Because of that, we need to find the way to attract them to learn.
One way is by using board games. Board games are enjoyable and educating in the same time. Young learners will give attention to something fun, so, we can hold their attention with board games because board games is a fun way to learn.
There are so many kinds of board games and it is nearly impossible to use them all, so, the writers limit it in the use of three board games only. They are scrabble, bingo, and crossword puzzle.
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Teaching vocabulary using those games above is really possible. Beside the games are easy played, there are pictures displayed to make it more attractive. Even the learners would not realize that they are in the middle of learning process. It is important to make young learners not realize that they are learning, because the word “learning” sometimes give them pressure. That is way board games are beneficial to improve students’ vocabulary mastery in elementary school.
C. Hypothesis
Based on the explanation above, it is assumed that board games can improve the students’ vocabulary mastery in elementary school.
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CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
A. Research Setting
This classroom action research was held in SD Negeri Cengklik II Surakarta. The school is located in Jl. Letjen Sutoyo no.16 Cengklik, Nusukan, Surakarta. Geographically, SD Negeri Cengklik II Surakarta has a strategic place. This school is near to the main road; therefore, it is easy to get transportation. Actually, there are some other buildings borders SD Negeri Cengklik II Surakarta. There are SD Negeri Cengklik I and SMA N 5 Surakarta in the north side, Letjen Sutoyo Street on the west side, SMA N 6 Surakarta on the south side and sport field of SMA N 6 Surakarta on the east side. The location of SD Negeri Cengklik II Surakarta is in educational environment where there are many other school surrounding it. Beside SMA N 5 Surakarta, SMA N 6 Surakarta, and SD Negeri Cengklik I Surakarta, there are also Tunas Pembangunan University and also Tunas Pembangunan Vocational school. This environment make the students’ learning environment is quiet and safe enough to conduct teaching and learning process.
SD Negeri Cengklik II Surakarta has six grades of class. They are the first until the sixth grade. Each grade consists of one class only and each class consists of 37 up to 50 students. There are six classrooms in SD Negeri Cengklik II Surakarta. Beside the classrooms, the other rooms in SD Negeri Cengklik II Surakarta are teacher office, headmaster office, and computer room.
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The time of the research was arranged based on the school’s academic schedule. Therefore, the writer conducted the research in the second semester of academic year 2009/2010 from April to June.
B. The Subject of the Research
The subject of the research was the fourth grade students of SD Negeri Cengklik II Surakarta. This class consists of 37 students. They are 14 boys and 23 girls.
The writer chose class IV as the subject of the research based on the fact that several of the students are cleverer and some are very active while the others have low achievement in English especially on vocabulary. It seems that some of them do not have willingness to study. This unwillingness can be seen from their behavior in English lesson time, from the observation of teacher’s class and from the first day of the research, researcher had seen that some students are asleep and some even making their own conversation with friends. The researcher conducted the study through teaching and learning process by employing board games in teaching vocabulary. The researcher acted as the teacher and the English teacher acted as the observer.
C. The Method of the Research
The research used in this study is a classroom action research. Action research is classroom-based research conducted by teachers in order to reflect upon and evolve their teaching. It is a systematic, documented inquiry into one aspect of teaching and learning in a specific classroom. The purpose of teacher
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research is to gain understanding of teaching and learning within one’s classroom and to use that knowledge to increase teaching efficacy/student learning. Classroom action research helped the researcher to discover what works best in a certain classroom situation as what stated by Zuber-Skerrit (1982)
"Through systematic, controlled action research, higher education teachers can become more professional, more interested in pedagogical aspects of higher education and more motivated to integrate their research and teaching interests in a holistic way. This, in turn, can lead to greater job satisfaction, better academic programmes, improvement of student learning and practitioner’s insights and contributions to the advancement of knowledge in higher education."
In this study, the classroom action research is conducted to solve the problems that appear in teaching and learning of vocabulary. The purpose of the research is to improve the students’ vocabulary mastery through board games and can give the best solution from the problem that appears during the teaching and learning process on the fourth grade of SD N Cengklik II Surakarta. This class Action Research is carried out by the writer as a practitioner who implemented the action and the English teacher helped the researcher by being the observer.
D. The Model of Action Research
The model of classroom action research used in this study is based on the model developed by Stephen Kemmis in Hopkins (1993:48). Based on the model, there are four steps in implementing the action research: (1) planning; (2) acting; (3) observing; and (4) reflecting. The cycle of research steps can be visually seen as follows:
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Plan
Reflection
Step I
Action & Observation
Revised Plan Reflection
Step II
Action &
Observation Revised Plan Next Cycle
Figure 1. Cycles of Action Research
The four elements above can be explained, as follows: 1. Planning the action.
The writer prepared everything related to the action as follows: a. Preparing material, making lesson plan, and designing the steps in
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b. Preparing sheets for classroom observation. It is prepared to know the situation and condition of the teaching and learning process when the technique is applied.
c. Preparing teaching aids needed, for example copies worksheets of picture or word list of board games, chalk, blackboard, duster, and so on.
d. Preparing test. It was done to know whether students’ vocabulary mastery could be improved or not. Thus it can be identified how effective the technique is.
2. Implementing the action
The writer conducted teaching and learning vocabulary through board games. The real implementations were generally presented as follows:
a. The writer prepared materials containing some exercises and practices taken and adapted from the source.
b. The writer distributed copied material according to the number of the students.
c. The writer gave short explanation and guided the students to understand, practice and do the exercise of board games.
d. The writer gave examples of board games that would be performed for other students in the class.
e. After ensuring that all students had understood, board games could be played.
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f. After doing board games, the teacher and the students reviewed materials and gave some evaluation.
g. The writer asked the students’ feeling and their comment dealing with board games had been performed.
3. Observing or monitoring the action
The writer as the practitioner observed the students’ activities when teaching and learning process occurred. The result of the observation was written on field notes as the data. The English teacher as observer gave some input and suggestion to the practitioner.
4. Reflecting the result of the observation
In this step, the researcher as practitioner made an evaluation and investigation towards what she had observed in order to find out the strengths and weaknesses of the teaching activity that had been carried out. Through the observation, the teacher can see whether the students are active or passive during the teaching and learning process.
5. Revising the plan
Based on the weaknesses of the activities that had been carried out using board games in teaching vocabulary, the writer revised the plan for the next cycle.
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E. The Technique of Collecting Data
In this research the researcher used observation, photograph, interview, and test to collect the data:
1. Observation
Observation is an effective technique to learn about the method used by the teacher, the condition of the clasroom, and the responses given by the students towards the method given by teacher.
This technique done by the researcher to observe students’ behavior and activities during the teaching and learning process. This observation focused on the development of students’ vocabulary mastery through board games. The researcher acted as an active participant teacher and also observer. The researcher observed the process of teaching and learning with the help of the English teacher as observer.
The researcher made field notes and took some photograph describing the students’ learning process. Photographs were taken to record activities happened in the class. It could give real description about teaching learning process.
2. Interview
This technique was implemented in the beginning and the end of the research to know the students’ and teacher’s view of the teaching-learning process. In the pre research, the researcher conducted interview to know what problems both the teacher and the students faced especially in learning English and at the end of the research aims to know students’ improvement.
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3. Test
The researcher gave vocabulary tests to the students. There were pre-test and post-test which are used to collect the data of the improvement. Test was conducted to verify whether or not board games helped to improve the students’ vocabulary mastery.
F. Technique of Analyzing the Data
After collecting the data, the writer then analyzed the data. There are two ways in analyzing the data; they were qualitative and quantitative method. In this research the qualitative data were analyzed by using Constant Comparative Method, while the quantitative data were analyzed by comparing the results of the tests. The writer analyzed the result of the observation during the teaching and learning process by using Constant Comparative Method as suggested by Strauss and Glasser in Moleong (2004:288-289). They said that in general, the data analysis process includes data reduction, data classification, data synthesis, and ended by action hypothesis. They are as follows:
1. Data Reduction
From the observation of each cycle the smallest unit that has close relationship with the research problems was found. After that the researcher gave codes for every unit in order to know where the data come from, whether it from the fieldnotes, interviews, photographs, etc.
2. Categorization
The next step that the researches do was choosing every unit that has the same characteristics and labeled it.
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3. Synthesis
To synthesis the researcher looked for the relationship between one category to the others. After that the researcher gave a label related one category to the others again.
4. Stating “Action Hypothesis”
Formulate proportional statements that come from the data.
The quantitative data were analyzed by calculating the mean of pre-test and post-test. Ary, Donald and Jacob (1979: 150) mention that the mean of pre-test and post-test can be calculated with the formula as follows:
N x
x
N y y
In which:
x = Means of pre-test scores
y = Means of post-test scores
N = Number of pairs
Based on the mean scores of the tests, it can show whether or not board games could improve the students’ vocabulary mastery.
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CHAPTER IV
RESEARCH FINDING AND DISCUSSION
A. Research Implementation
This research was held in two cycles. The writer divided first cycle into three meetings. Each meeting took 60 minutes. It was conducted in 21st April 2010, 28th April 2010, and 12th May2010. Meanwhile, the second cycle included two cycles. In both, first and second cycles, the writer used “Animals” and “Foods and Drinks” as the topics. She conducted the second cycle on 26th May 2010 and 7th June 2010. Every cycle in this research consists of series of steps, namely identifying the problems, planning the action, implementing the action, observing or monitoring the action, evaluating and reflecting the result of the observation, and revising the plan. They could be explained in the following parts.
1. Cycle 1
a. Identifying the problems
As stated previously in the first chapter of this thesis, it was seen that students felt bored with the teacher’s technique in delivering material. They saw that English lesson was something difficult and boring. Sometimes they did not pay attention to the lesson. They played with other students or sometimes they did nothing. The teacher never used other techniques to present and practice new vocabularies. Then, the students found difficulties in pronouncing, spelling, and understanding new vocabularies. The writer could also see that the students’ English score of test were still low. It
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seemed that they really found difficulties to remember and grasp the meaning of words easily.
b. Planning the action
Before implementing the action, the writer and the teacher gave the students a pre-test. The pre test was conducted on Thursday, April 15th 2010. It was conducted to know the students’ basic knowledge about the topic, and it would be compared with the post test in the end of the cycle to know the improvement. The writer prepared the materials, students’ worksheet, a lesson plan as teacher’s guidance in teaching vocabulary and everything needed in the action. The action plan would be implemented by the writer. Meanwhile the teacher observed the whole process during the process of teaching and learning in the classroom.
c. Implementing the Action 1) First Meeting
The first meeting was conducted on Wednesday, April 21st 2010. In the first meeting the writer chose “Animals” as a topic and chose “Scrabble” as a kind of board games would be played. After coming to the class and greeting the students, the teacher checked the students’ attendance. Next, the teacher talked about “animals” as the topic they would learn. Then, the teacher asked the students whether they have pets or not. The teacher asked the students to mention names of pets they have at home in English.
After introducing the topic, the teacher began the lesson of that day by showing the students some pictures. The teacher asked and their meaning.
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When the teacher asked the students to mention the names of each picture some student didn’t answer it. Ensuring the students understood about the pictures, the teacher continued to explain that the students would play board games dealing with animals. The teacher explained that the rule of the game was to fill the empty blocks on the scrabble board with the letters that the teacher had prepared and formed it into names of animals. To make the explanation clearer, the teacher gave an example in the board.
After that the teacher divided the students in to four groups. The students were divided into four groups based on their sitting row. Each group chose their own leader. The students in each group enthusiastically discussed the name of animal they used in the board game. Some of the groups got noisy in discuss the name. Knowing the crowd happened in certain group, the teacher asked them not to speak too loudly and not to disturb the other groups. The students obeyed the teacher’s command.
The next part was playing the game. One student of each group came forward to stack the letters to the scrabble board and form a word. The other students waited to take turn. Beside waited to take turn, the other students discussed the next answers would be written with their friends. In this game, the fastest group who was able to finish the game would be the winner. The limitation of time in performing the game gave motivation to the students to finish the game as fast as possible. The students gave support to their friends by shouting “ayo, ayo, ayo, ayo”. After finishing the game, the students went back to their chair and waited the next instruction from the teacher.
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To know the winner of the game, the teacher asked the students to discuss the answers of questions in that game. The teacher asked the students to mention the meaning and to pronounce of each word. The discussion which was done also has function to correct the answers of each group. Having finished the discussion, the teacher announced the winner of that day. Then, the teacher gave a reward to the winner as an appreciation.
Next, the teacher gave some reflection towards all activities had been done that day by asking the students’ feeling and their comment. The teacher asked “bagaimana pendapat kalian tentang permainan hari ini?” Some students said “game ini terlalu sulit Bu”, “sebelumnya kami tidak pernah diberi game semacam ini Miss”. Then, the teacher gave response and some advice due to the students’ complaints and she closed the lesson because the time was up.
2) Second Meeting
The second meeting was conducted on Wednesday, 28th April 2010. In the second meeting the teacher still chose “Animals” as a topic and chose “crossword puzzle” as the game. The teacher said,”Good morning class, how are you?” to the students and greeted them using English. Then, the teacher checked the students’ attendance. The teacher began the lesson by reviewing the last lesson. The teachers showed some pictures of animals and asked the students to say it names loudly in English. Some of the students could do it well but the rest kept silent because they did not know the answer.
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The teacher began the main activities by explaining the rules of “crossword puzzle” game. The teacher also gave an example of that game. In doing the task, the students were divided into four groups based on their sitting position. Each group had to choose the leader to make job distribution easier. While the students discussed their strategy, the teacher prepared four boards to play the game in front of the class. The teacher gave fifteen minutes for each group to accomplish the task. The students did the task seriously. There were some groups who made a circle to discuss the task. The other groups sat on their chair and also make a discussion. The leader of each group has his owns strategy to finish the task as soon as possible. There were some students who read the LKS to find the answers, and the rest used their thought and memories to do so. The answer should be written in boxes provided in the board. When the time was up, the teacher asked each group to sit back on their chair.
After that the students and the teacher held the discussion. The teacher, followed by the students, read the words the students wrote on the board. There were many different answers from the students. They looked happy when their answers were right, but they looked sad when their answers were wrong.
In the end of discussion, the teacher announced the winner. The winner of that day received the reward from the teacher. The teacher said that the other students still had chances to get the reward. Before continuing to the next activity, the teacher asked about the students’ comment dealing with
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“crossword puzzle” game. The students answered “menyenangkan buk, gamenya gampang”. The teacher felt glad hearing the students answer.
After finishing the discussion, the teacher closed the lesson and gave announcement to the students that for the next meeting there would be another board game to play. The students seemed excited.
3) Third Meeting
This meeting was conducted on Wednesday, May 12th 2010. In the third meeting the teacher chose “Foods and Drinks” as the topic and chose “Bingo” as the game. To start the class the teacher greeted the students used English. Then, the teacher checked the students’ attendance. The teacher began the lesson by reviewing the last lesson. The teachers showed some pictures of animals and asked the students to say it names loudly in English. In this meeting most of the students could say the animal’s name correctly, but they sometimes mispronounced it.
After that the teacher began the lesson by asked the students what are their favorite food and drink. Some students answered “bakso buk, bakso…”, “mie ayam”, “es teh buk…”. The teacher got various answer from the students. Next the teacher asked them to mention their favorite food and drink in English. It seems that the students did not really know the English word, so the teacher wrote their answer on the blackboard and wrote the English word beside their answer. The teacher guided the students to read the English words one by one. After the students read all words in the blackboard, the teacher
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showed some new pictures of foods and drinks with a name on it and asked the students to say it names loudly.
The teacher explained that today the students will play "bingo", she explained the procedure to play "Bingo" is matching the pictures that will be given to them with the words teacher wrote on the board. The pictures provided are drawing "foods and drinks". In this game when they have an image in accordance with the writing on the board they must shout "Bingo". In doing the task, the students were divided into groups of four based on their registered number. While the students discussed their strategy, the teacher prepared the board to play with. Early in the game the children were embarrassed shouting "bingo" they just raised their hands shyly. But moments later halted children excited and yelling "bingo" with full of spirit.
After the game had finished the students and the teacher held the discussion. The teacher together with the students matched the pictures that each group has with the words written on the board. It turns out that there were two winners, group 1 and 7 are considered as the winner. To determine the first champion, the teacher gave a question to those two groups "Who have the picture of French fries?" The two groups seem concerned that images they hold seriously. In the end, group 1 which was headed by Faisal shouted "Bingo". After the teacher checked that the picture was really owned by group 1, the teacher decided that group 1 was the winner and she gave the reward to the winner.
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In this third meeting the rest of the time was used to do the first posttest. The students had to finish the post test in twenty minutes. After finishing the test, the teacher closed the lesson and gave announcement to the students that for the next meeting there would be another board game to play.
d. Observing and Monitoring
In monitoring the implementation of board games in teaching vocabulary, the writer used test, observation, and interviews to the students as the consideration to make a decision dealing with the next steps. The test was given in the form of post-test one. The observation was done simultaneously when teaching and learning process happened. The observation was made based on the fieldnotes that written by the observer and the teacher. Then interviews were taken from the conversation that taken place in teaching and learning process.
Based on the fieldnote taken by the writer and observer, the observation of the meeting in research action can be explained as follows:
1) First Meeting
In the first meeting the lesson focused on the topic animals meaning aspect and simultaneously followed by other aspects of vocabulary. The other aspects that should be improved were spelling and pronunciation. First of all the writer who became the teacher asked and elicited vocabularies from students. After getting many animals names on the blackboard, the students made mistakes in mentioning the right words in English. Some students could not pronounce the word “sheep” correctly, they pronounced it as “∫ ε p”
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instead of “∫ i: p”. After that she showed some pictures of animals so that students became more enthusiastic to guess the pictures in English. Many students could guess them correctly but some of them mispronounced the word. Before giving the right answer for the picture, the teacher discussed the answer to the other students first. The teacher expected that the students could fix the mistakes of their friends.
After the discussion asked the students to play the scrabble game, the students seemed very excited. This game made every single student came forward and gave the answer in the board. From this step the teacher expected that the students could be more active. Since this game was played in group, some students were very noisy in discussing the game. The teacher had to warn them to stay quiet. In the end of the game the teacher announced the winner of the game and gave them reward. The teacher expected the students to be motivated by giving rewards. After the game done, because of the limited time the teacher had to end the lesson and said goodbye.
2) Second Meeting
The teacher began the lesson by reviewing the previous material on the vocabulary about animals. The students forgot some vocabularies when she did the review. Then, she decided to use the picture to attract their attention and refresh their mind. The use of picture was helpful. Guided by the teacher, the students could remember the previous vocabularies. The teacher used the topic “animals” in this meeting. In this meeting the teacher gave some new vocabularies about animals to the students. She used the crossword puzzle
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game to transfer the new vocabularies to the students. This game still played in group. By dividing the students in group she expected that the students could be more communicative. In playing this game the teacher gave some hints to the students, they had to guess the names of the animals with the helping of the hints. Many students succeeded in finding the answer. Several students failed and looked sad. In the end of the game the teacher gave reward to the winner.
3) Third Meeting
In this meeting students got a new topic. The topic was “foods and drinks”. Before starting the lesson the teacher reviewed the last material. After sure the students were ready to get a new topic she began the lesson. First, she asked the students “what is your favorite food?” . She asked this question to guided students mind to the new topic. After that she showed some pictures and asked the students what is the name of the food and drink in the picture. Some students had difficulties in answering this question. They know the Indonesian word, but many of them did not know the English. For example, many of them did not know the English word of “bakso” they kept saying “bakso” instead of “meat ball”. It proved that some students had low vocabularies in meaning aspect.
To improve their vocabulary especially in the meaning aspect, the teacher used the bingo game as the media. To play this game the students were divided into small group. Next the teacher explained the rules of the game and gave them different pictures of foods and drinks to each group. The game is
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not necessary to put board games in doubt to improve students’ vocabulary mastery. It is proven that board games can improve students’ vocabulary mastery, actually for the students of the fourth grade of SD N CENGKLIK II.
C. Hypothesis Testing
Based on the explanation above, it can be concluded that the action hypothesis is accepted. The use of Board games can improve students’ vocabulary mastery. The improvement can be seen by analyzing the data collected. The students’ mean score improved from 5.82 before the action to 7.50 after the second cycle.
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CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION, IMPLICATION, AND SUGGESTION
A. Conclusion
Based on the discussion in the previous chapter, the researcher draws two conclusions. (1) Board games can improve the students’ vocabulary mastery. Students’ pronunciation, spelling, and new words grasping are better than before the research being implemented. Statistically, the students’ achievement can be seen by analyzing the students score before the research and the students’ score during the cycle. (2) Board games can make students shows their positive attitudes towards vocabulary learning. In addition, students also showed better attitude in vocabulary learning it is indicated by their active participation in the lesson conducted by the researcher. The students gave more participation in responding or even answering the teacher’s questions in teaching and learning process better than before the research being implemented in class. (3) Through board games the student become active learners, but in the same time because board games often done in group it is harder for the teacher to control the class condition.
The students’ mean score in the pre test before the action was 5.82. The mean score in the end of the first cycle was 6.72. The result in cycle I was not satisfying yet because there were some weaknesses during the implementation of the action. Some students were still made mistakes in pronouncing the words. Some of them are also still weak in word recognizing. To solve the problems in
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cycle II the researcher focused more on improving students’ vocabulary mastery especially on meaning understanding and pronunciation through board games as both individual and group activity to measure each student abilities.
The test result in cycle 2 improved from 5.82 in pre-test, 6.72 in post-test 1 to 7.50 in post-test 2. The tests results can be seen from the table below:
Vocabulary test result W : Written test point S : Spoken test point R : Result
NO NAM E
PRE-RESEARCH CYCLE I CYCLE II
Pre Test I Post Test I Post Test II
W S R I W S R II W S RIII
1 DEWI AYU WISNU K 24 9 6 27 9 6.6 31 9 7.3
2 DWI SURYANINGSIH 15 3 3.3 19 3 4 25 9 6.2
3 RIDO ADI CHRISTIAN 10 3 2.4 10 6 2.9 27 9 6.5
4 ALFAJIUM RYAN KURNIA 31 6 6.7 28 9 6.6 31 12 7.6
5 AWANG EKO NOVIANTO 17 3 3.6 23 3 4.7 26 6 5.8
6 ADITYA EVITA PUTRI 30 6 6.5 33 6 7.1 35 9 8
7 ANGGRAENI SULISTYOWATI 30 9 7.1 33 9 7.6 34 15 8.8
8 ANANTISYA WIJAYANTI 24 9 6 37 12 8.9 37 12 8.9
9 DYAN ANUGRAH WIDHIANTO 22 6 5.1 27 6 6 32 9 7.5
10 ELYAS LATHIF 28 6 6.2 35 9 8 31 15 8.4
11 ENDRAS PINASTO 25 6 5.6 25 6 5.6 23 9 5.8
12 FAISAL ANDRE FERGIAWAN 21 6 4.9 25 6 5.6 26 12 6.9
13 FATIM AH ARUM SARI 21 3 4.4 23 6 5.3 25 6 5.6
14 FITNANI AGUSTIN HIDAYAH 33 6 7.1 34 9 7.8 34 12 8.4
15 IKHSAN SETIAWAN 28 6 6.1 28 9 6.7 27 12 7.1
16 ILYAS AL- ASYARI 27 3 5.5 34 6 7.3 34 9 7.8
17 ILYAS RIXQI M ARTUTI 31 3 6.2 31 6 6.7 30 12 7.6
18 INDAH PRABAWATI KUSUM A 27 6 6 32 6 6.9 29 9 6.9
19 JONATHAN BANGKIT CHRIS 21 6 4.9 23 6 5.3 26 12 6.9
20 M OH. ANDRIKA M UTIA 39 9 8.7 40 12 9.5 37 15 9.5
21 M ARIA OKTAFIANI ARI S 31 9 7.2 35 9 8 38 12 9.1
22 M ETIYANI 28 0 5.1 27 6 6 26 9 6.4
23 NIKEN AYU M UTIASARI 21 6 4.9 29 6 6.4 32 12 8
24 OKTA WIDA AYU HAPSARI 18 6 4.4 24 6 5.5 23 9 5.8
25 PINGKY M ELINDIA M ARGANIS 29 3 5.8 29 6 6.4 32 6 6.9
26 RIZKY ADINDA ANESWARI 31 6 6.7 34 9 7.8 31 12 7.8
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The table above proves that teaching vocabulary through board games can improve student’s vocabulary mastery.
B. Implication
In teaching English for young learners, the teacher has to recognize students’ characteristics to choose certain teaching technique. This would bring the students into good participation in the lesson. It is a must for the teacher to find the appropriate teaching technique, method and approach for the students. Creating an enjoyable situation in the teaching learning process is very important to make the students motivated to learn.
Based on the conclusion in this study and supported by all of the data of the research, there is an improvement in teaching vocabulary through board games. The writer can imply that board games can be called as an effective technique in teaching vocabulary to the students. Therefore, the use of board games is recommended to improve students’ vocabulary mastery for young learners.
C. Suggestion
The results of the study prove that teaching vocabulary through board games can improve students’ vocabulary mastery. Based on the result above, the
28 ROZA AYU M AGDALENA 37 3 7.3 34 9 7.8 36 12 8.7
29 SEFRIAN DISTA DAM ANIK 19 6 4.6 27 9 6.6 27 9 6.6
30 SISKA NUR INDAHSARI 18 6 4.4 27 6 6 31 9 7.3
31 SITI KHOFIFAH 30 6 6.6 32 6 6.9 28 12 7.2
32 TRI AM BARSARI 25 6 5.6 30 12 7.6 30 15 8.2
33 WISNU M URTI NUGROHO 17 6 4.2 27 9 6.5
34 WINDA SAFITRI 21 3 4.4 27 6 6 33 9 7.6
35 YOSHAN ARDHI PRATAM A 34 6 7.3 33 9 7.6 37 12 8.9
36 YUSUF ARLENTHA 30 9 7.1 30 9 7.1 31 9 7.3
37 ALFIANITA NUR FADHILAH 37 12 8.9 40 12 9.5 38 15 9.6
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process. Dealing with the study that has been conducted by using board games in teaching vocabulary, the writer would like to propose some suggestions. Hopefully, the suggestions will be useful for teachers, students, the other researcher and educational institutions. The suggestions are:
1. To English teachers in primary school.
Board games can provide an enjoyable and comfortable environment in the class. In this research it also showed that board games can improve student’s vocabulary mastery in understanding meaning, spelling, and pronunciation aspect. So it suggested for the teacher to use board games to teach English in primary level.
In implementing board games the English teacher needs to identify the students’ behavior first before presenting the lesson. This is aimed to choose an appropriate game to use in the teaching and learning process. The right technique is the key of success in using this technique. The English teacher also should make the situation of instructional process fun and interesting. 2. To the student
Some students might consider English as a difficult subject if there is no motivation to learn. The students should encourage themselves to learn more, to ask more, and to know more. They have to be more active and motivated to learn English. The students not only can study English in the class but also can study everywhere and every time. They can practice English
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in their daily life. English can be practiced at home using board games designed for individual. It is very useful, cheap, and easy to get.
3. To educational institution.
The institution should encourage and support the English teachers to improve the quality of their teaching. It can be done by providing facilities needed by both teachers and students so that the teaching and learning process will run well. The institution should also give an opportunity to the teacher with a brand new idea in teaching English by providing the facilities and giving the teacher opportunity to express their ideas. The educational institutions can also provide some activities like teacher training that can improve the quality of the teachers in teaching English.
4. To other researchers.
This study introduces the use of board games as an approach to improve the students’ vocabulary mastery. This study is just one of effort in increasing the students’ motivation and achievement, therefore; the writer hopes that the finding of this study will be used as a starting point of the future research on similar problems for the other researchers, especially researches dealing with the teaching of vocabulary.