IMPROVING THE EIGHTH GRADE STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY ACHIEVEMENT AND PARTICIPATION BY USING RIDDLES IN PLAYING SNAKES AND LADDERS GAME AT SMPN 3 BALUNG JEMBER

Abstract

This research was a classroom action research focusing on the use of riddles in playing snakes and ladders game to improve the eighth grade students’ vocabulary achievement and participation. The subjects of this research were the students of class VIII-B at SMPN 3 Balung Jember in the 2014/2015 academic year. This class was chosen because the students in that class experienced difficulties in learning vocabulary. They also had the lowest mean score of vocabulary achievement compared with the other eighth grade classes. In this research, the researcher used riddles in playing the snakes and ladders game in teaching vocabulary to the students because the researcher believed that both riddles and snakes-ladders game could improve the eighth grade students’ vocabulary achievement. Playing snakes and ladders game by solving some clues in the form of riddles was 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 riddles in the problem cards and the words of the riddles answer. This research was conducted on November 20 th - December 5 , 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 riddles in playing snakes and ladders game 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. After analyzing the result of observations and the result th of vocabulary achievement test in Cycle 1 quantitatively, it was known that both of them did not achieve the target percentage required that was 70%, although the mean score of the students was more than 75, that was 76.63, but 64% of 33 students who had achieved the standard minimum score and there were 69% of the students that were identified as active, those results were below from the target percentage that was 70%. Therefore, the researcher conducted Cycle 2 by revising some problems in Cycle 1 to give a better result in Cycle 2. From the observation of the students’ active participation done during the teaching learning process of vocabulary by using riddles in playing snakes and ladders game, the average result of the students’ active participation showed an improvement from Cycle 1 that was 69% to 78.7% in Cycle 2. It can be seen that the improvement of the students’ active participation from Cycle 1 to Cycle 2 was as many as 9.7%. The students’ active participation in this research could achieve the target percentage required that was 70% in Cycle 2. Therefore, it can be concluded that the use of riddles in playing snakes and ladders game in teaching vocabulary could improve the students’ participation during the teaching learning process of vocabulary. Further, the result of vocabulary achievement test in Cycle 1 indicated that only as many as 21 students (64%) out of 33 students achieved the standard minimum score that was ≥ 75 and it was increased in Cycle 2 that was as many as 24 students (72.7%) out of 33 students could achieve the standard minimum score that was ≥ 75. The improvement of the students who got score ≥ 75 in vocabulary achievement test from Cycle 1 to Cycle 2 was as many as 9%. This result revealed the fact that the target of success of this research that was 70% of the students got score ≥ 75 had been achieved in Cycle 2 and it proved that the use of riddles in playing snakes and ladders game in teaching vocabulary could improve the eighth grade students’ vocabulary achievement at SMPN 3 Balung 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 to use riddles in playing snakes and ladders xiv

game in teaching vocabulary to the students in order to improve their vocabulary achievement. It is also suggested to the future researchers to conduct a further research dealing with similar problem by using different research designs such as an experimental research and a descriptive research or even the same research design that is a classroom action research but to other level of students of different schools.