IMPROVING THE VIII-C STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY ACHIEVEMENT BY USING ELECTRONIC FLASHCARDS AT SMPN 1 SUKOWONO IN THE 2010/2011 ACADEMIC YEAR

Abstract

This classroom action research was intended to improve the VIII-C students‟ vocabulary achievement by using Electronic Flashcards in the teaching learning process at SMPN 1 Sukowono. Based on the result of classroom observation in the preliminary study, it was found that many students of class VIII-C did not participate actively during the teaching learning process. This finding was supported by the English teacher‟s statement about his students‟ low participation. The teacher stated that there were 11 of 34 students who usually gave responses to his questions. It meant that only 32.35% of the VIII-C students who could be categorized as active students. Besides, it was known that many students of class VIII-C had limited vocabulary and experienced difficulty in mastering vocabulary. The result of vocabulary diagnostic test showed that 12 students of class VIII-C got ≥ 60 in the test and 22 students got < 60. It meant that 35.29% of the students achieved the English minimum requirement standard score of SMPN 1 Sukowono and 64.71% of them failed. This classroom action research was conducted collaboratively with the English teacher of class VIII-C. There were four stages of activities in this research, namely: planning of the action, implementation of the action, observation and evaluation, and data analysis and reflection. The data collection methods that were used in this research were interview, documentation, diagnostic test, classroom observation, and achievement test. This classroom action research was carried out in two cycles. Each cycle was conducted in three meetings. The first and the second meeting were used to do the actions and the third meeting was used to conduct the vocabulary achievement test. In the first cycle, it was known that the percentage of the active students was 51.47%. It meant that the minimum requirement percentage of the active students in this research (50%) could be achieved in Cycle 1. However, the percentage of the students who got ≥60 (the English minimum requirement standard score of SMPN 1 Sukowono) in the test was only 47.05%, whereas the minimum requirement percentage in this research was 50%. Dealing with the results, it was necessary to continue the action to the second cycle by revising some necessary aspects in the first cycle. In the second cycle, the percentage of the students who were active during the teaching learning process was 72.05%. It met the minimum requirement percentage (50%) and was higher than the percentage of the active students in Cycle 1 (51.47%). Meanwhile, the percentage of the students who got ≥60 in the vocabulary achievement test was 67.64%. It meant that the minimum requirement percentage of the students who got ≥60, that was 50%, could be achieved in Cycle 2. Since all of the research targets were achieved in the second cycle, the action was stopped. Based on the research results from Cycle 1 to Cycle 2, it was concluded that teaching vocabulary by using Electronic Flashcards could improve the students‟ participation and vocabulary achievement. Thus, the English teacher is suggested to use Electronic Flashcards as alternative media in teaching vocabulary.