The Use of Semantris in Improving Vocabulary Mastery For the 8th Grade Students

Abstract

This classroom action research aimed to enhance the vocabulary mastery of the eighth-grade students by utilizing game based-learning Semantris at a junior high school in Jember. The preliminary study revealed that most of the students in class VIII C faced challenges in understanding vocabulary. The students faced difficulties in remembering the vocabulary they had just learned and using it in the appropriate context. This was because the teacher had not used alternative learning media, relying instead on traditional methods that caused students to quickly forget what they had learned. The test results from the preliminary study showed that the class percentage of students meeting the criteria was only 8.11%, meaning that only 3 out of 37 students achieved the Minimum Mastery Criterion (KKM ≥ 71). This indicated that the students' ability to understand and retain vocabulary was still very inadequate. They could not differentiate the word according to the class of word (adjective and noun). Therefore, to address this problem, the researcher conducted a study using Semantris as the primary learning medium to improve students' vocabulary mastery. The researcher used a vocabulary test as the data collection method to know the students improvement after using Semantris. The study was carried out in two cycles, with each cycle consisting of two meetings for implementing the action and one meeting for administering the test. The success criterion for this study was met if 70% of the students achieved a score of ≥ 71. In cycle 1, the assessment results showed that nine students, or 24.32%, met the Minimum Mastery Criterion. However, in cycle 2, the percentage of students scoring ≥ 71 increased to 70.27%, or twenty-six students. These results indicate that the target criteria set by the researcher were achieved in cycle 2, leading to the conclusion of the action at this stage. The results of cycle 2 demonstrated significant improvement compared to cycle 1, showing progress across the cycles. Thus it can be concluded that using Semantris enhanced the vocabulary mastery of class VIII C students.