THE EFFECT OF USING VISUAL DICTIONARY ON THE SEVENTH GRADE STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY ACHIEVEMENT AT SMPN 1 SUMBERJAMBE IN THE 2010/2011 ACADEMIC YEAR

Abstract

There are four language skills that should be mastered by students who study the language namely; listening, speaking, reading, and writing. As it has been stated in the 2006 Institutional Based Curriculum (KTSP, 2006:2), the main objective of teaching English at Junior High School is to help students master the four language skills, those skills must be given integratedly and supported by the language component, such as vocabulary, pronunciation, and structure. In this case, vocabulary is one of the language components which cannot be neglected in the teaching learning of English. The English teacher should use interesting media in the vocabulary class that helps the students get the information from new vocabularies. Therefore, using Visual Dictionary as one of the learning media can help the students avoid misunderstanding and understand the new vocabulary. This research was an experimental research. The purpose of this research was to know whether or not the using Visual Dictionary has a significant effect on the seventh grade students’ vocabulary achievement at SMPN 1 Sumberjambe in the 2010/2011 academic year. The area of this research was SMP Negeri 1 Sumberjambe. It was chosen purposively because the use of Visual Dictionary as media had never been applied in teaching learning process in this school. The respondents of this research were the seventh grade students of SMPN 1 Sumberjambe in the 2010/ 2011 academic year. The research respondents were determined by cluster random sampling through a lottery. The total number of the respondents was 80 students that consisted of 40 students of VII A as the experimental group taught by using Visual Dictionary, while the control group consisted of 40 students of VII C taught by using Question-Answer technique. The data of this research were collected from the students’ scores of vocabulary achievement test, interview and documentation. The vocabulary achievement test was collected from the post test. Then, it was used to make comparison between the two groups after the treatment, and the result was analyzed by using t-test formula. Based on the computation of the t-test formula on vocabulary achievement test, it showed that the statistical value of t-test was 3.65 while the value of t-table at significant level 5% with df (78) was 2.00. It means that the statistical value of t-test was higher than that of t-table. Consequently, the null hypothesis (H0): “The use of Visual Dictionary has not a significant effect on the seventh grade students’ vocabulary students’ achievement at SMPN 1 Sumberjambe in the 2010/2011 academic year” was rejected. On the other hand, the alternate hypothesis: “The use of Visual Dictionary has a significant effect on the seventh grade students’ vocabulary achievement at SMPN 1 Sumberjambe in the 2010/2011 academic year” was accepted. It indicated that there was a significant effect of using Visual Dictionary on the Seventh Grade Students’ Vocabulary Achievement at SMPN 1 Sumberjambe in 2010/2011 Academic Year. Based on the result of this research, the English teacher is suggested to apply this media especially in teaching English vocabulary. Further, the students of SMPN Negeri 1 Sumberjambe are suggested to use Visual Dictionary in their study, especially in vocabulary learning. They can consult on Visual Dictionary to finding the meaning of new vocabulary which is completed with ilustrations and detailed explanation. Moreover, it is suggested that the result of this research can be used by future researchers as a reference or information in conducting the same study by using different research design such as a classroom action research but on different skill of English.