dc.description.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. | en_US |