The Use Of Games To Improve Students’ Vocabulary Mastery (An Action Research In Sdn Mangkuyudan No. 2 Surakarta At Fifth Grade In Academic Year 2012/2013)

Oleh :
Artati Manggalya - X2208504 - Fak. KIP

The aims of this research are 1) to find out whether teaching vocabulary using game can improve students’ vocabulary mastery at the fifth grade students of SDN Mangkuyudan No. 2 Surakarta, and 2) to describe the phenomena happening when games are implemented in teaching vocabulary at the fifth grade students of SDN Mangkuyudan No. 2 Surakarta. The research was conducted in April. The subject of the study is the students of class 5 of SD Negeri Mangkuyudan No. 2 Surakarta. The research is carried out in one cycle; cycle one consists of four meetings. The research data were collected by using techniques of observation, interview, notes/journals, documents, and tests (pre-test and post-test). The writer analyzed the data by combining qualitative and quantitative data that have been collected. It examines observation report, field notes and reviewing the photographs of teaching and learning process. The result of the research shows that games can improve students’ vocabulary mastery. Besides, their test achievement during the research is better than their score in the teacher’s note before the actions are implemented. The students’ mean score before the action is 56.37, it improves up to 84.62 in the first cycle. The research findings show that the use of games could improve students’ vocabulary mastery and students’ motivation in English class. The improvement of students’ vocabulary mastery includes 1) the students could easily identify the meaning of vocabularies; 2) the students had fewer mispronunciations; 3) the students made fewer mistakes in spelling some vocabularies. The improvement of students’ motivation includes 1) the students made less noise during the lesson; 2) the students looked enthusiastic during the lesson; 3) most of students were active; 4) the students who were usually shy became more brave and active.