IMPROVING THE EIGHTH GRADE STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY ACHIEVEMENT BY USING CROSSWORD PUZZLES AT MTsN ARJASA JEMBER

Abstract

Improving the Eighth Grade Students’ Vocabulary Achievement by Using Crossword Puzzles at MTsN Arjasa Jember; Windy Melya Permatasari, 100210401038; 2015; 62 pages; English Language Education Study Program, Language and Arts Department, The Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Jember University. This research was a classroom action research focusing on the use of crossword puzzles to improve the eighth grade students’ vocabulary achievement. The subjects of this research were the students of class VIII-A at MTsN Arjasa Jember in the 2014/2015 academic year. This class was chosen because the students in that class had difficulties in learning vocabulary. They also had the lowest mean score of vocabulary achievement comparing with the other eighth grade classes. In this research, the researcher used crossword puzzles in teaching vocabulary to the students because the researcher believed that crossword puzzles could improve the eighth grade students’ vocabulary achievement. Crossword puzzles by using clues in the form of phrases and sentences were given to the students in this research. It was intended to help the students to enrich their vocabulary both from the words asked in the clues of crossword puzzles and the words used in the clues of crossword puzzles. This research was conducted on November 3 rd - November 19 , 2014 in 2 Cycles. Each Cycle consisted of two meetings and a vocabulary achievement test. In this classroom action research, the researcher taught vocabulary by using crossword puzzles to the students in two meetings and did the observation collaboratively with the English teacher. There were two kinds of important data in this research: primary data and supporting data. The supporting data were gathered through interview and documentation while the primary data were collected through observation and vocabulary achievement test. th From the observation of the students’ active participation done during the teaching learning process of vocabulary by using crossword puzzles in Cycle 1, the average result of the students’ active participation was only as many as 61.92%. It means the target percentage of the students’ active participation had not achieved yet. Further, the observations were continued to Cycle 2. The average result of the students’ active participation increased from 61.92% in Cycle 1 to 77.93% in Cycle 2. It could be seen that the improvement of the students’ active participation from Cycle 1 to Cycle 2 was as much as 16.02%. The results of the students’ active participation in this research proved that the use of crossword puzzles in teaching vocabulary could improve the students’ active participation during the teaching learning process of vocabulary. Further, the result of vocabulary achievement test in Cycle 1 indicated that only as many as 20 students (66.7%) out of 30 students achieved the standard minimum score that was ≥ 75. This result had not achieved the target percentage in this research yet that was 75%, so, the actions were continued to cycle 2. In cycle 2, the result of the students’ vocabulary achievement showed that was as many as 23 students (76.7%) out of 30 students could achieve the standard minimum score that was ≥ 75. It means that the result of the students’ vocabulary achievement improved from 66.7% in Cycle 1 to 76.7% in Cycle 2 and the improvement of the students who got score ≥ 75 in vocabulary achievement test from Cycle 1 to Cycle 2 was as much as 10%. This result revealed the fact that the target of success of this research that was 75% of the students got score ≥ 75 had been achieved in Cycle 2. The successful result of this research could be reached by revising some weaknesses found in Cycle 1 so it could give a better result in Cycle 2 and finally it proved that the use of crossword puzzles in teaching vocabulary could improve the eighth grade students’ vocabulary achievement at MTsN Arjasa Jember in the 2014/2015 academic year. Based on the results above, the hypotheses of this research were accepted and it is suggested to the English teacher and the further researchers to use crossword puzzles in teaching vocabulary to the students in order to improve their vocabulary achievement.