USING PICTURE FILES TO ENHANCE THE EIGHTH GRADE STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY ACHIEVEMENT AT SMPN 2 MUMBULSARI JEMBER IN 2016/2017 ACADEMIC YEAR
Abstract
This research was intended to enhance the eighth grade students’
vocabulary achievement by using picture files at SMPN 2 Mumbulsari Jember.
Based on the preliminary study done by the researcher by interviewing the
English teacher, most of the eighth grade students at this school had difficulties in
learning English skills because they were lack of vocabulary. In listening, they
could not understand what they listened clearly because they had never listened
the words used by the speakers. In speaking, they could not express all the ideas
in their minds because they had only few vocabularies so their speeches were not
satisfying as they thought. In reading, most of them got difficulties while doing
the exercises given because they could not comprehend the whole text as the
result of their lack of vocabulary. They also often got problems in writing because
they could not use appropriate words in their writings so that their works were not
really understandable. Moreover, the way of the teacher taught was just giving the
students the list of vocabularies related to the materials given, so that the students
got difficulties in memorizing the meanings of the vocabularies. For these reasons,
the researcher wanted to overcome the students’ problems in learning vocabulary
by using media called picture files.
The objectives of this research were: (1) to enhance the eighth grade
students’ vocabulary achievement at SMPN 2 Mumbulsari Jember and (2) to
describe how the use picture files in teaching learning vocabulary can assist the
eighth grade students’ mastery of vocabulary. The design of this research was
Classroom Action Research which covered four stages of activities namely: (1)
reconnaissance or fact finding, (2) planning of the action, (3) implementation, and
(4) evaluation. SMPN 2 Mumbulsari Jember was chosen purposively as the
research area because the students at this school still had difficulties in learning
and mastering vocabulary. Among the eighth grade students at this school, VIII A
students were chosen as the research subjects since they had the almost problems
in learning vocabulary and had the lowest mean score for the previous English
daily test score. There were 31 students as the subjects of this research.
The data collection method used in this research was a vocabulary
achievement test and an observation. The vocabulary achievement test was
conducted at the end of the cycle (after implementing the action) to get the
students’ score. Meanwhile, the observation was conducted during the
implementation of the action to get the detail description of the students’ activities
in teaching and learning process by using picture files.
This classroom action research was conducted only in one cycle since the
result of the first cycle had achieved the research target. This research was
considered to be successful if at least 75% of the VIII A students achieved the
standard score of the school, 75. The result of the vocabulary achievement test
showed that there was an improvement of the percentage of the students who got
> 75. It increased from 38.71% in the preliminary study (the students’ previous
score) to 80.65% in the first cycle of the research (the students’ score of
vocabulary achievement test). For this reason, the second or the next cycle of the
research was not necessary to be conducted.
Moreover, the result of the observation by using fieldnotes showed that the
teaching and learning process by using picture files could give some contributions
to the students in learning vocabulary. It could assist the students to master
vocabulary by helping them to be more focus in receiving the vocabulary lesson,
helping them to understand the vocabulary meanings illustrated by the pictures
helping them to memorize the words through the pictures easily, and finally
helping them to master the vocabulary which had been taught by the researcher.
Therefore, based on the research results above, it could be concluded that the use
of picture files could enhance the eighth grade students’ vocabulary achievement
at SMPN 2 Mumbulsari Jember in 2016/2017 academic year.