THE EFFECT OF USING RIDDLES ON THE EIGHTH GRADE STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY ACHIEVEMENT AT SMP O3 ISLAM ROWOTENGAH SUMBERBARU JEMBER

Abstract

Vocabulary is the basic thing in language learning. Lack of vocabulary relatively makes secondary students have problems to master English. However, learning new vocabulary is not easy for students at Junior high school. They generally experience difficulties in memorizing the English words they have learnt because they are quite different from their mother tongue. Riddle is a problem or puzzle in the form of a question, statement that must be solved. The students can expand their vocabularies by using riddles. In this way the students have fun to learn vocabulary. This research was conducted to investigate whether or not there was a significant effect of using riddles on the eighth grade students’ vocabulary achievement at SMP 03 ISLAM Rowotengah Sumberbaru Jember in the 2011/2012 academic year. The respondents of this research were the eighth grade students of SMP 03 ISLAM Rowotengah Sumberbaru Jember in the 2011/2012 academic year that was determined by cluster random sampling by lottery. The total number of the respondent was 114 students, divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental group consisted of 38 students who were taught vocabulary by using riddles, and the control group consisted of 38 students who were taught vocabulary without using riddles, but using lecturing technique. The primary data of this research were collected from the students’ scores of vocabulary test, while the supporting data of this research were gained through interview and documentation. The primary data of this research were collected and then analyzed by using t-test formula. The result indicated that the value of statistic was 2.93 while t-table was 2.00 with 5% significant level and degree of freedom 74. Thus, t-statistic was higher than that of t-table (2.93>2.00). It means that the null hypothesis (Ho): “There is no significant effect of using riddles on the eighth grade students’ vocabulary achievement at SMP 03 ISLAM Rowotengah Sumberbaru Jember in the 2011/2012 academic year” is rejected. On the contrary, the alternative Hypothesis (Ha) that is formulated: “There is a significant effect of using riddles on the eighth grade students’ vocabulary achievement at SMP 03 ISLAM Rowotengah in the 2011/2012 academic year is accepted. Furthermore the DRE showed that the degree of relative effectiveness of riddles was 8.18% higher than the scores of the students who were not taught by using riddles. Thus, it proved that there was a significant effect of using riddles on the eighth grade students’ vocabulary achievement at SMP 03 ISLAM Rowotengah Sumberbaru Jember in the 2011/2012 academic year. Based on the result of this research, it is recommended to the English teacher to use riddles as an alternative teaching technique.