improving students ˇ vocabulary mastery using ...... · perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id...

perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id

commit to user

IMPROVING STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY MASTERY USING

CROSSWORD PUZZLES

(A Classroom Action Research at The Fifth Grade Students of SD

Negeri2Ngerangan in The Academic Year of 2011/2012)

THESIS

MOHAMMAD ISKANDAR DZULKURNAIN

(K2208085)

ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION FACULTY

SEBELAS MARET UNIVERSITY

SURAKARTA

2012


commit to user ii

IMPROVING STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY MASTERY USING

CROSSWORD PUZZLES

(A Classroom Action Research at The Fifth Grade Students of SD

Negeri2Ngerangan in The Academic Year of 2011/2012)

MOHAMMAD ISKANDAR DZULKURNAIN

(K2208085)

THESIS

Submitted to Teacher Training and Education Faculty of SebelasMaretUniversity

as Partial Fulfillment of Requirement for the Undergraduate Degreeof Education

in English

ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION FACULTY

SEBELAS MARET UNIVERSITY

SURAKARTA


commit to user iii

2012PRONOUNCEMENT

I would like to certify that the thesis entitled “IMPROVING

STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY MASTERY USING CROSSWORD

PUZZLES(An Action Research at the Fifth Grade Students of SD Negeri 2

Ngerangan in the Academic Year 2011/2012)” is really my own work. It is not

plagiarism or made by others. Everything related to others’ works are written in

quotation, the sources of which are listed on the bibliography.

If then, this pronouncement proves wrong, I am ready to receive any

academic punishment.

Surakarta, July 2012

Mohammad Iskandar Dz


commit to user iv


commit to user v


commit to user vi

ABSTRACT

Mohammad Iskandar Dzulkurnain K2208085. IMPROVING STUDENTS’VOCABULARY MASTERY USING CROSSWORD PUZZLES(An ActionResearch at the Fifth Grade Students of SD Negeri 2 Ngerangan in theAcademic Year 2011/2012). A Thesis, Surakarta: Teacher Training andEducation Faculty of Sebelas Maret University, 2012.

This research aims at: (1) identifying whether and towhat extent the useof crossword puzzle improve students’ vocabularymastery, and (2) describing theclassroom situation when Crossword Puzzle is implemented in the English classof the fifth grade of SD Negeri 2 Ngerangan.

The method used in this research is a collaborative action research. Theresearch was conducted in two cycles at the fifth grade of SD Negeri 2 Ngeranganfrom April 2, 2012 to June 5, 2012 The research data were collected by usingtechniques of observation, interview, notes/journals, documents, and tests (pre-testand post-test). The qualitative data were analyzed through assembling the data,coding the data, comparing the data, building interpretations, and reporting theoutcomes. Meanwhile, the quantitative data were analyzed through descriptivestatistic.

The research findings show that the use of Crossword Puzzle couldimprove students’ vocabulary mastery and classroom situation of English class.The improvement of students’ vocabulary mastery includes: (1) students hadfewer mispronunciations; (2) students made fewer mistakes in spelling somevocabularies; (3) students could easily identify the meaning of vocabularies. Theimprovement of classroom situation includes: (1) the students made less noiseduring the lesson; (2) no student asked for permission to go to the bathroom as thereason to get out of the class; (3) students looked enthusiastic during the lesson;(4) most of students were active during the class activities; (5) students could becontrolled during the lesson; (6) students voluntarily took notes of the lesson.Besides the two findings above, there are other findings as follows: (1) studentscould work either in group or individually; (2) students who were usually shybecame more brave and active to express their answers.

Keywords: vocabulary, crossword puzzle


commit to user vii

MOTTO

Practice makes Perfect

(Mohammad Iskandar Dzulkurnain)


commit to user viii

DEDICATION

This thesis is whole-heartedly dedicated

to those who support me to keep on

struggling to get a better future:

My beloved mother and father

My beloved sisters and brother

My lovely nephew and cousin


commit to user ix

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Alhamdulillahirabbil’alamin. Thanks to Allah SWT for showering His

blessing to the writer so that he can finish histhesis as a partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the Undergraduate Degree of Education in English.

Obviously, there are honorable people who deserve his special gratitude

for their help and encouragement to the writer.

1. The Dean of Teacher Training and Education Faculty, for the approval

of this thesis.

2. The Head of English Department of Teacher Training and Education

Faculty, for her advice and approval of this thesis

3. Drs. Martono, M.A,the writer’s first consultant for herencouragement,

criticism, compliment, patience, guidance, and time from the

beginning up to the completion of this thesis.

4. Drs. Muh. Asrori M. Pd, the writer’s second consultant for his

criticism, advice, patience, guidance, and time in accomplishing this

thesis.

5. Suroto, S.Pd.SDthe headmaster of SD Negeri 2 Ngerangan for

facilitating the writer in conducting the research.

6. Handoko, S.Pd.I, the English Teacher of class V for his collaboration

and his helps in doing this research.

7. The students of class V in SD Negeri 2 Ngerangan for their

participation.

8. Ayu Pramoni, Ika, Cycas Lucky, Dinda, Eka, and Naja, Riska for their

advice, companion, and support in accomplishing this thesis.

The writer realizes that this thesis is still far from being perfect. He hopes

and accepts gratefully every comment and suggestion. Hopefully, this thesis will

be useful for the readers.

Surakarta, July 2012

Mohammad Iskandar Dzulkurnain


commit to user x

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE .............................................................................................................. i

PRONOUNCEMENT...................................................................................... iii

CONSULTANTS APPROVAL ...................................................................... iv

BOARD OF EXAMINERS LEGITIMATION ............................................... v

ABSTRACT..................................................................................................... vi

MOTTO ........................................................................................................... vii

DEDICATION ................................................................................................. viii

ACKNOWLEEDGEMENT............................................................................. ix

TABLE OF CONTENT ................................................................................... x

LIST OF TABLE ............................................................................................. xiii

LIST OF APPENDICES.................................................................................. xiv

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION .................................................................. 1

A. Background of the Study ..................................................................... 1B. Problem Identification.......................................................................... 7C. Problem Limitation .............................................................................. 8D. Problem Statement .............................................................................. 9E. Objectives of the Study ....................................................................... 9F. Benefits of the Study ........................................................................... 10

CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................... 11

A. Vocabulary ........................................................................................... 111. Definition of Vocabulary ............................................................... 112. Vocabulary Mastery ....................................................................... 123. The Kind of Vocabulary................................................................. 124. Technique in TeachingVocabulary ................................................ 165. The Importance of Vocabulary Teaching ...................................... 226. Learning and Teaching in Elementary School ............................... 23

B. Young Learner...................................................................................... 24

1. The Nature of Young Learner ........................................................ 242. Principles in Teaching Vocabulary to Young Learners ................. 25

C. Review on Crossword Puzzle............................................................... 27

1. Definition of Crossword Puzzle .................................................... 27


commit to user xi

2. Crossword Puzzle in Teaching-Learning Process......................... 283. The Advantages of Crossword Puzzle in Teaching Vocabulary... 314. The Disadvantages of Crossword Puzzle in Teaching Vocabulary 33

D. Review on Related Research.......................................................... 34

E. Rationale ........................................................................................ 35F. Action Hypothesis ......................................................................... 36

CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ...................................... 37

A. Context of the Research ...................................................................... 37

B. Method of The Research ...................................................................... 371. Why Action Research .................................................................... 372. Definition of Classroom Action Research ..................................... 373. Model of Action Research ............................................................. 384. Procedures of Action Research ...................................................... 39

C. Method of the Action Research............................................................ 41

1. Technique of Collecting Data ........................................................ 412. Technique of Analyzing Data ........................................................ 42

CHAPTER IV RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ................. 45

A. Research Findings ................................................................................ 45

1. Situation Before the Research ........................................................ 45

2. The Implementation of the Research ............................................ 50

a. Procedure of The Research ...................................................... 50

b. Cycle 1 ..................................................................................... 52

1) Planning the Action............................................................ 532) Implementing the Action.................................................... 53

a) The First Meeting......................................................... 53b) The Second Meeting .................................................... 55c) The Third Meeting ....................................................... 56

3) Observing the Action ......................................................... 57

a) The First Meeting ......................................................... 57b) The Second Meeting ..................................................... 59c) The Third Meeting........................................................ 60

4) Reflecting and Evaluating the result .................................. 605) Revising the Plan ............................................................... 63

c. Cycle 2 ..................................................................................... 65

1) Planning the Action............................................................ 66


commit to user xii

2) Implementingthe Action..................................................... 66

a) The First Meeting......................................................... 66b) The Second Meeting .................................................... 67

3) Observing the Action ......................................................... 69

a) The First Meeting......................................................... 69b) The Second Meeting .................................................... 70

4) Reflecting the Result of Observation ................................. 715) Findings.............................................................................. 74

a) The Improvement of Students’ Vocabulary Mastery... 82b) The Improvement of Classroom Situation ................... 84

c) The improvement of Students’ Behaviour ................... 85

B. Discussion ........................................................................................... 85

1. Crossword Puzzle is Able to Improve Students’ Vocabulary Mastery852. Crossword Puzzle is Able to Improve the English Classroom Situation87

CHAPTER V CONCLUSION, IMPLICATION, AND SUGGESTION .. 89

A. Conclusion .......................................................................................... 89B. Implication .......................................................................................... 90C. Suggestion ........................................................................................... 91

BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................... 93

APPENDICES ............................................................................................... 96


commit to user xiii

LIST OF TABLE

1. Table 3.1The Classroom Procedure of the Research ................................ 39

2. Table 4.1Situation Before the Research.................................................... 45

3. Table 4.2 The Detail of Vocabulary Aspects’ Mean Scores of Pre-

Test............................................................................................................ 46

4. Table 4.3Summaryof the Research Process .............................................. 51

5. Table 4.4Students’ Matery on Vocabulary Aspects Post-test 1................ 61

6. Table 4.5The Improvement of the Class Situation After Cycle 1............. 61

7. Table 4.6The Strenghs and Weaknesses of the Research

Implementation in Cycle 1........................................................................ 62

8. Table 4.7The Summary of Cycle 1 ........................................................... 63

9. Table 4.8The Summary of Cycle 2 ........................................................... 72

10. Table 4.9 Research Findings .................................................................... 75

11. Table 5.0The Improvement of Students’ Vocabulary Aspects ................. 82

12. Table 5.1The Sample of Students’ Achievement...................................... 83

13. Table 5.2The Improvement of Students’ Vocabulary Achievement ........ 85


commit to user xiv

LIST OF APPENDICES

1. Appendix 1 Research Timeline ................................................................ 97

2. Appendix 2 Pre-Observation Note............................................................ 98

3. Appendix 3 Lesson Plans“Cycle 1” .......................................................... 103

4. Appendix 4Lesson Plans“Cycle 2” ........................................................... 111

5. Appendix 5 List of Class V Students’ Name ............................................ 118

6. Appendix 6Observation Form................................................................... 119

7. Appendix 7Worksheet of Pre Test ............................................................ 129

8. Appendix8 Worksheet of Cycle 1 Post Test ............................................. 133

9. Appendix9 Worksheet of Cycle 2 Post Test ............................................. 137

10. Appendix 10 Students’ Result of the Test ................................................ 141

11. Appendix 11Transcript of Interview......................................................... 144

12. Appendix 12 Field Note / Journal ............................................................. 150

13. Appendix 13Photograph of the Research ................................................. 164

14. Appendix 14Sample of Students’ Worksheets.......................................... 166

15. Appendix 15Legalization.......................................................................... 189


commit to user 1

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

English is an international language. It plays an important role,

especiallay as a bridge to communicate between people of different nations.

English is also used in almost all aspects of human life for example: economy,

science, education, politic, etc. English is mostly used in the scientific field as

means of expanding science and technology written in English. People cannot

deny that they need English as early as possible. It is clear now that English is

very important for all people in this world.

Due to the importance of English, in Indonesia, English has been taught

and learnt at elementary school since some years ago. Elementary school is the

basic level of educational system in Indonesia. Teaching English in elementary

school is important in order to give student basic knowledge and ability on

English. Moreover, English at elementary school can help student to be more

ready and confident in learning English at the higher level.

In Indonesia, English is introduced in the curriculum to a number of

elementary schools as a local content. It is stated in the curriculum of elementary

school 2004:

“Sebagai upaya peningkatan kualitas pendidikan khususnya pengajaranMuatan Lokal Bahasa Inggris Sekolah Dasar, pada tahun anggaran2005 Dinas Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Provinsi Jawa Tengah telahmenyusun Kurikulum Muatan Lokal Mata Pelajaran Bahasa InggrisSekolah Dasar untuk kelas I s.d kelas VI”(Kurikulum Tahun 2004 MataPelajaran Bahasa Inggris untuk SD/MI Provinsi Jawa Tengan 2004:iii)

The years at primary school are extremely important in children’s

intellectual, physical, emotional, and social development. One of the elements in

the language that cannot be separated from teaching English at elementary school

is English vocabulary. It is difficult to master foreign language without mastering

or understanding the vocabulary. Zimmerman (1997) states that for young

learners, vocabulary is central to language and words are the critical importance to


commit to user

2

language learning. It cannot be separated from the other language elements in the

teaching and learning process because it influences the students’ ability in

learning English. Thus vocabulary mastery is very important to support other

English language skills.

Wilkins (in Thornbury, 2002: 13) says that without grammar very little can

be conveyed, but without vocabulary, nothing can be conveyed. Dellar and

Hocking (in Thornbury, 2002: 13) add whether most of the time is spent in

studying grammar the English will not improve very much. However the most

improvement will be seen if more words and expressions are learned. One can say

very little with grammar, but they can say almost anything with words.

Likewise, Hatch and Brown (1995: 1) add that vocabulary refers to a list

or set of words that individual speakers of language might use. Since vocabulary

is a list, the only system involved is alphabetical order in dictionaries. The choice

in vocabulary selection and methods used in teaching vocabulary are important. It

means that the choice of words and method of teaching are important factors in

vocabulary learning, especially formally at school. According to Pinter (2006:83),

fluent speakers and writers put together the component parts of the language

system quickly and efficiently. To be able to do this, they need to know a large

pool of vocabulary items and a long list of grammatical structures. From the

explanations above, we can conclude that learning vocabulary is important as the

basic need to encounter a new language.

Teaching vocabulary to children is not easy. There are many problems that

will be faced by the teacher when he or she introduces English to his or her

students. For the students, they will be given something new and different from

their mother tongue. Based on those phenomena, teacher has to help his or her

students so that they can learn vocabulary effectively, and the result is that they

can improve their vocabulary mastery.

Therefore, the sample of the study will be the fifth grade of elementary

students who receive English subject as their foreign language. Based on the age

level of learners which is range from nine to eleven they are called as children. As


commit to user

3

Pinter (2006: 1) states that from five to 14 years of age they are considered as

young learners.

In teaching English including vocabulary, children are treated differently

from adult. Especially elementary students, first, students must be familiar with

English vocabulary. Since vocabulary is suggested to learn from early ages, the

students are expected to master good vocabulary. They can be said as having good

vocabulary mastery when they meet the followings: (1) primarily, the meaning of

a word is what it refers to in the real world or its definition given by dictionary

(denotation). But students need also to know the connotation of some words, that

is whether a word has positive or negative sense, and words’ appropriateness, that

is if the words are suitable to use in certain context or not;(2) students have to

know words’ pronunciation. In teaching, teacher needs to make sure that

pronunciation aspect is presented and learned accurately; (3) students have to

know words’ spelling. Teacher needs to make sure that spelling aspect is

presented and learned accurately; (4) besides words’ meaning, spelling, and

pronunciation, students also need to know how to use words. In this case, they

need to understand grammar and words’ collocation. Grammar is important to

master since words may change in form when used in sentences, for example

when they are connected to tense and singular-plural forms; while by knowing

collocation, students will be able to differentiate what words can be attached

appropriately to another word. For example, throw for a ball and toss for a coin

(Ur, 1991: 60-61).

In the pre-research, the writer encountered several vocabulary learning

problems emerged in the fifth grade class of SD Negeri 2 NgeranganKlaten.

Those language skill problems are: (1) students misspell English words. Students

could not provide the missing letters to construct correctly spelled words. They

also could not arrange jumbled letters into the correct spelling. The writing system

of English words which is different from the pronunciation makes students

confused to memorize the proper spelling system of those words; (2) some

students find it difficult to identify the meaning of words; (3) students


commit to user

4

mispronounce English words. They made many mistakes in pronouncing English

words in the oral pre-test. The interference from mother tongue is the biggest

reason causing mispronunciation. Besides, there are some sounds which do not

exist in mother tongue.

Those are in line withthe aims of English lesson for elementary schools

students stated in curriculum of 2004:

Mata pelajaranmuatanlokalBahasaInggris disekolahdasarinimemilikitujuansebagaiberikut: Siswa mampu memahamiketerampilanmenggunakanunsur-unsur tata

bunyi, makna kata, ejaan kata dalam bahasa inggris

Besides, the problems were also indicated from the class situation. They

are: (1) students were too talkative during the lesson and make the class noisy.

Most of students were busy talking with their friends when the teacher (HD)

explained the material. Therefore, the class became noisy; (2) students felt bored

and sleepy. Several students seemed lazy to follow the lesson. There was a student

yawning during the lesson. He obviously said that English class was too long; (3)

there were only few students who are active during the teaching and learning

process. When the teacher asked questions, there were only few students who

actively answered the questions on the white board, while others were kept silent.

They did not finish anything; (4) students did not eager to write the material on

their books. They were immediately copying the material written by the teacher

(HD) on the whiteboard, when (HD) asked them; (5) there was break time that

made English lesson could not totally focus. This made the class did not

conducive.So, the teacher (HD) should made the class conducive again.

From the pre-research, there were several causes of those problems above.

They are: (1) there are few variations of teaching and learning activity to facilitate

students in learning vocabularies. Explanation and doing exercise were the main

activities. The teacher has tried to make students active to answer her questions on

the white board, but the result was not satisfying since there are just few students

answering the questions, while other students were busy doing non-academic

activities. They tended to talk each other out of the lesson’s topic; (2) there are too


commit to user

5

many materials given to students to memorize in one meeting. Those burdened

students in understanding the lesson. Moreover, few variations of class activity

made students less-motivated in English lesson. So, they were helpless in

vocabulary learning; (3) there is limited teaching and learning media to conduct

English lesson; (4) The limited time and equipment. English in elementary school

is taught only 60 minutes everyweek. It makes the teacher difficult to explore the

material. This limited time makes the teacher teach the students too fast to cover

all material in one semester and makes the students get difficulties in grasping the

material perfectly. Beside the limited time, the limited equipment makes the

teacher difficult to develop teaching learning process and makes the teacher

difficult to develop teaching learning process. He taught using white board and

asked students to write the material on their note books. Based on the pre-

observation, this teaching and learning situation made students bored and sleepy.

They did non-academic activities instead of paying attention to the teacher.

Those problems affect students in the process of vocabulary mastery.

Their English score was not satisfying. From the result of pre-test, only few

students pass the minimal standard score (6.0), while others are under minimum.

They are still lack of vocabulary mastery for the elementary level. Because of the

limited vocabularies of surrounding objects, the students find it difficult to

communicate in English, either spokenand written.

Based on the problems and reason above, the writer proposes one of

teaching media as the solution in learning vocabularies. The teaching media,

which is suitable to evercome the problems, is crossword puzzles.As Jones (2007,

posted in Building vocabulary skill) says that crossword puzzles involve several

useful skills including vocabulary, reasoning, spelling, and word attack skills. To

solve any crossword puzzle, a person must be able to identify and understand the

terms which are being used. This often involves acquiring new vocabulary or

terminology. It can also involve making differentiations between similar words or

phrases. Correctly deciphering a crossword also requires exact spelling, which for


commit to user

6

students may mean practicing dictionary skills. Another benefit of using

crossword puzzles in the classroom is that they are related to recreation, and can

be less intimidating for students as a review.

According to Kilickaya (2007) in a journal of Teaching English with

Technology, crossword puzzles are excellent way to review vocabulary, as

students will immediately know their answers are incorrect if they do not fit the

puzzle. In addition, if the students cannot figure out the answer, they can simply

count the squares in the puzzle, find words of equal length and then try to deduce

the correct answer. Paul (2003: 99) says that crossword puzzle can be used at any

level, and is wonderful way to bring together vocabulary from many different

lesson. Paul adds that the combination of puzzle solving and fun can create a

powerful learning tool.

However to some extent, people state that using crossword puzzles can

also create negative view of the students. Many people believe that crossword

puzzles can bring a bad effect on the learning process. They perceive that using

crossword puzzle is just a waste of time, and there is no benefit on it. This is the

reason why the researcher is interested in conducting the study on the use of

crossword puzzle in teaching vocabulary and she wants to see how it affects

students’ vocabulary achievement.

Based on the description above the writer purposes in carrying out a study

on “Improving Students’Vocabulary Mastery Using Crossword Puzzles (A

Classroom Action Research of Fiftth Grade Students of SDN 2 Ngerangan in

Academic Year 2011/2012).

B. Problem Identification

There are the factors that influence the students’ vocabulary mastery. In

identifying that problems, the researcher has interviewed the teacher and the

student. The writer also observed the teaching-learning processes in the

classroom. Based on the pre-observation conducted by the researcher in the

teaching-learning English at the fifth grade class of SD Negeri 2 Ngerangan

Klaten, there were some problems that can be identified as follows.


commit to user

7

The first problem in related to the students. the writer encountered

several vocabulary learning problems emerged in the fifth grade class of SD

Negeri 2 Ngerangan Klaten. Those language skill problems are: (1) students

misspell English words. Students could not provide the missing letters to

construct correctly spelled words. They also could not arrange jumbled letters

into the correct spelling. The writing system of English words which is different

from the pronunciation makes students confused to memorize the proper spelling

system of those words; (2) some students find it difficult to identify the meaning

of words; (3) students mispronounce English words. They made many mistakes

in pronouncing English words in the oral pre-test. The interference from mother

tongue is the biggest reason causing mispronunciation. Besides, there are some

sounds which do not exist in mother tongue.

Besides, the problems were also indicated from the classroom situation.

They are: (1) students are too talkative during the lesson and make the class

noisy. Most of students were busy talking with their friends when the teacher

(HD) explained the material. Therefore, the class became noisy; (2) students feel

bored and sleepy. Several students seemed lazy to follow the lesson. There was a

student yawning during the lesson. He obviously said that English class was too

long; (3) there are only few students who are active during the teaching and

learning process. When the teacher asked questions, there were only few students

who actively answered the questions on the white board, while others were kept

silent. They did not finish anything; (4) students are not eager to write the

material on their books. They were immediately copying the material written by

the teacher (HD) on the whiteboard, when (HD) asked them; (5) there is break

that English lesson could not totally focus. This wasted the lesson time since the

teacher (HD) should make students focus to the lesson again.

The third problem concerned with the facilities. The writer found that the

facilities at SD Negeri 2 Ngerangan Klaten were very limited. Furthermore, the

teacher also rarely used the limited facilities that are available in that school.

Certainly it makes the situation during the teaching learning process worse.


commit to user

8

Whereas, facilitities are needed in the teaching learning process. Aids such as,

charts, diagrams, maps, laboratory tools are very helpful when teachers are

teaching in the classroom. English teaching learning process supported by the

equipment that is available will improve the students’ interest in learning English,

a tape recorder, for instance, can be used to develop basic skills listening.

Besides, it leads sudents’ involvement as the students find the lesson is

interesting.

The fourth problem is related to the media. The teacher only used limited

media to explain the lesson. It is caused by the lack of available school’s

facilities. Besides, the teacher rarely made interesting media in English teaching

learning process bacause she had no time to make it. Whereas, media is one of

the factors that can determine the success of the teaching learning process. It is

because through media, the students’s interest in learning can be increased.

C. Problem Limitation

It is impossible to solve problems related to the factors, so the writer

limits the problems related to use of teaching media, a crossword puzzle, to

improve students’ vocabulary mastery. This limitation is based on the research

that writer done that students still lack of vocabulary mastery for the elementary

level. The vocabulary that used on this research only three aspects that is

pronounction, spelling, meaning. All of them based on the topic that is sugessted

by the teacher and the curriculum of Bahasa Inggris in SD 2 Ngerangan. English

lesson for elementary schools students stated in curriculum of 2004:

Mata pelajaranmuatanlokalBahasaInggris disekolahdasarinimemilikitujuansebagaiberikut: Siswa mampu memahamiketerampilanmenggunakanunsur-unsur

tatabunyi, makna kata, ejaan kata dalam bahasa inggris.

That is why the students of SD Negeri 2 Ngerangan Klaten need media, a

crowssword puzzle, which will improve their vocabulary mastery.


commit to user

9

D. Problem Statement

Related to the study entitled the use of crossword puzzle in teaching

vocabulary, the following statements of the problem are stated as follows:

1. Does and to what extent the use of crossword puzzle improve students’

vocabualry mastery?

2. What is the class situation whencrossword puzzleis implemented in the

English class of the fifth grade of SD Negeri 2 NgeranganKlaten?

3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using crossword puzzle in

teaching vocabulary?

E. Objective of the Study

Based on the formulation of the problem, the general objective of this

research is to improve students’ vocabulary through crossword puzzle.

Particularly, this research is aimed to find out:

1. To identify whether and to what extent the use of crossword puzzle

improve students’ vocabulary.

2. To describe the class situation when crossword puzzles is implemented in

the English class of the fifth grade of SD Negeri 2 NgeranganKlaten.

3. To discover the advantages and disadvantages of crossword puzzles.

F. Benefits of the Study

It is expected that this study contribute some significant progresses in

teaching vocabulary.

1. For the writer, the study can bring her to a better understanding of

improving students’ vocabulary mastery and give practical contributions to

her on how to improve students’ vocabulary mastery using crossword

puzzle.


commit to user

10

2. For teachers, the study gives input in enriching their teaching aids to be

used in the classroom.

3. For students, the study can improve the students’ motivation and

vocabulary.

4. For other researcher, the research can become a kind of references to

conduct the same type of research.

5. For Teachers Training and Education Faculty, it is expected that the result

of this study can be a medium and provide contribution to explore one of

the language element in teaching English.


commit to user 11

CHAPTER II

REVIEW ON RELATED LITERATURE

A. Vocabulary

1. Definition of Vocabulary

Vocabulary is one of the language system components that is important to

be learnt. It plays an important role in the four language skills. By mastering

vocabulary, students will be able to produce many sentences either in spoken or

written texts.

In general, vocabulary is a word in a language. According to

OxfordAdvanced Learner’s Dictionary, vocabulary is total number of words in a

language. Without knowing vocabulary, students will not be able to speak, write,

read, and also listen comprehensively. Knowing a word is something to do with

recognizing itsmeaning (Cameron, 2001: 75). It means that in learning

vocabulary, students have toknow and understand the meaning; therefore, they

will use it in a meaningful context.

Ur (1998: 60) adds that vocabulary can be defined roughly as the words

the teacher teaches in the foreign language. A new item of vocabulary may be

more than a single word: for example, post office and mother-in-law, which are

made up of two or three words but express a single idea. There are also multi-

words idioms such as call it a day, where the meaning of the phrase cannot be

deduced from an analysis of the component words.

Furthermore, Lehr, Osborn, and Hiebert (2005) also add that knowledge

about wordscomes in two forms namely receptive and productive vocabulary.

Receptivevocabulary includes words that are recognized when we hear or see

them. It is theability to comprehend passive vocabulary which is used in reading

and listeningcontexts. Productive vocabulary includes words that we use when we

speak or write.


commit to user

12

From the previous definition, it can be concluded that vocabulary is a set

ofwords that have meaning and are used in a specific language which is known to

its users.

2. Vocabulary Mastery

The word mastery refers to some definitions. According to Coulson et al.

(1987: 1050), mastery is skill use or knowledge. It means mastery is the ability to

use one’s knowledge. Hornby (1984: 523) adds that mastery is complete control

or knowledge. It means mastery is the whole power or ability to direct

knowledge. Same with that, an article written by Educator’s Visual Mentor, an

on-line educators development site, states that mastery in learning is the ability to

use knowledge (http:/www.Educatorsvirtualmentor.com/conceptGuide.html). In

addition, mastery is defined by Mastery Works, an on-line site about talent,

profesion and carrier development, as the ability to combine skill and knowledge

in one certain area. Julia Swannel (1994: 656) states mastery is comprehensive

knowledge.

From the theories above, it can be concluded that vocabulary mastery is

the ability to use set of words for particular language and comprehensive

knowledge in recognizing words and its meaning.

3. The Kind of Vocabulary

Based on Haycraft (1997: 44), he distinguishes the kinds of vocabulary

into two parts: those are active and passive vocabulary. Active vocabulary is the

words which the students can understand, pronounce correctly and use

constructively in speaking and writing. While passive vocabulary is words which

the students recognize and understand when they occur in context, but which

learner himself can’t produce correctly. Harmer (1991: 159) adds that active

vocabulary refers to vocabulary that students have been taught or learnt and

which they are expected to be able to use. While passive vocabulary refers to

words which the students will recognize when they meet them but which they

will probably not be able to produce. It means that active vocabulary is

www.Educatorsvirtualmentor.com/conceptGuide.html


commit to user

13

productive learning referring to speaking and writing, while passive vocabulary is

receptive learning referring to reading and listening.

Nation (1990: 5) mentions two kinds of vocabulary learning. They are

receptive learning and productive learning. The explanation is as follow.

a. Receptive Learning

Receptive learning is the ability to recognize a word and recall its meaning

when it is met. Hatch and Brown in Haycraft (1994) also have similar

explanation that receptive vocabulary is words that the learners recognize and

understand when they occur in context, but which they cannot produce correctly.

The words can be found in reading context but they are not used in speaking and

reading.

b. Productive Learning

Productive learning involves what is needed for receptive learning plus the

ability to speak or write at the appropriate time. Hatch and Brown in Haycraft

(1994) explain that productive vocabulary is the words that the learners

understand, can pronounce correctly, and use constructively in speaking and

writing. It involves what is needed for receptive vocabulary supported by the

ability to speak or to write at the appropriate time. Thus, productive vocabulary

can be addressed as an active process, because the learners can produce the words

to express their thought or idea to others.

In other words, receptive learning is the process of learning vocabulary

through listening and reading, while productive learning is the process of

learning vocabulary not only through listening and reading but also through

writing.

Thornbury (2002: 27) declares some factors why learning vocabulary is

rather difficult for second language learners. If those factors are fulfilled,

someone can be said that he or she has achieved the vocabulary mastery.

Thornbury says that the factors come from the word’s aspects such

pronounciation, spelling, length and complexity, grammar, meaning, and range,


commit to user

14

connotation and idiomatic are the indicators in vocabulary mastery. Fromthose

six aspect aspects above,four of them will be defined briefly here.

1) Pronunciation

Research shows that words that are difficult to pronounce are more

difficult to learn. Potentially difficult words will typically be those that

contain sounds that are unfamiliar to some groups of learners such as

regular and lorry for Japanese speakers. Many learners find that words

with cluster of consonant, such as strength or crisp or breakfast, are also

problematic.

2) Spelling

Sound-spelling mismatches are likely to be the cause of errors,

either of pronunciation or of spelling, and can contribute to a word’s

diffulty. While most English spelling is fairly law-abiding, there are also

some glaring irregularities. Words that contain silent letters are

particularly problematic: foreign, listen, headache, climbing, bored, and

honest, cupboard, muscle, etc.

3) Length and complexity

Long words seem to be no more difficult to learnt than short ones.

However, as a rule of thumb, high frequency words tend to be short in

English, and therefore the learner is likely to meet them more often, a

factor favoring their ‘learn ability’. Furthemore, variable stress in

polysyllabic words- such as in word families like necessary, necessity and

necessarily can add to their difficulty.

4) Grammar

It is problematic when grammar associated with the word, especially if

this differs from that of its L1 equivalent. Spanish learners of English, for

example, tend to assume that explain follows the same pattern as both

Spanish explicarand English tell, and say he explained me the


commit to user

15

lesson.Rememmbering whether a verb like enjoy, love, or hope is follow

by an infitive (to swim) or an-ing form (swimming) can add to its

difficulty. The grammar or phrasal verb is particularly troublesome: some

phrasal verb are separable (she looked the word up) but others are not (she

looked after the children).

5) Meaning

When two word overlap in meaning, learners are likely to confuse

them. Make and do are a case in point: you make breakfast and make an

appointment, but you do the housework and do a questionnaire. The

wordare multiple meanings such as since, and still, can also be

troublesome for learners. Having learned one meaning of the word, they

may be reluctant to accept a second, totally different, meaning. Unfamiliar

concepts may make a word difficult to learn. Thus, culture specific items

such as words and expressions associated with game cricket (a sticky,

wicket, a hat trick, and a good innings) will seem fairly opaque to most

learners and are likely to be easily learned.

6) Range, connotation and idiomaticity

Words that can be used in a wide range of context will generally be

perceived as easier than their synonyms with narrower range. Thus put is a

very wide-ranging verb, compare to impose, place, position, etc. Likewise,

thin is a safer bet than skinny, slim, slender. The words have style

constraints, such as very informal words (chuck for thro, swap for

exchange) may cause problems. Uncertainly to connotations of some

words may cause problems too. Thus, propaganda has negative

connotations in English, but its nearest equivalent in other languages may

dean deviant. Finally, words or expression that are idiomatic (like make up

your mind, keep an eye on ...) will generally be more difficult than words

whose meaning is transparent (decide, watch). It is their idiomaticity, as

well as their syntactic complexity that makes phrasal verbs so difficult.


commit to user

16

The researcher concludes that there are two kinds of vocabulary.

They are active vocabulary and passive vocabulary. Active vocabulary is

the word which students can understand, pronounce correctly and uses

constructively in speaking and writing. While passive vocabulary is words

which the students recognize and understand when they occur in context,

but learner himself can not be able to produce correctly.

Based on those ideas, it can be concluded that vocabulary mastery is the

student’s awareness of understanding the words, word meaning, word spelling,

pronunciation, and their rules to communicate.

4. Technique in TeachingVocabulary

It is surprising how many ways to put across the meaning of new words to

a class, and the teachers soon realize how often a class will grasp the meaning of

new words they are taught to pronounce them and put them in sentence. Based on

Cross opinion (1995: 5) there are two ways to present vocabulary. First by

showing the meaning and second by using language that the students already

know in order to make clear the meaning of a new lexical item. Cross (1995: 11)

propose four steps in presenting a new vocabulary. Step one is the sound and

meaning; say the new word two or three times, pronouncing it clearly and indicate

the meaning at the same time. Step two is repetition; the students repeat a new

word a few times and the teacher checks the pronunciation carefully. Step three in

written form; the teacher writes the new word on the blackboard and the students

read it aloud without distorting the pronunciation. Step four is illustrative

sentence; the teacher puts a short illustrative sentence on the board so that

meaning will be clear to anyone reading the notes afterwards.

In general, there are four main techniques of teaching vocabulary proposed

by some experts: Cross (1995: 5-13) and Haycraft (1997: 47-50). The techniques

are as follow:


commit to user

17

a. Ostensive means

Ostensive means by showing. It is the way of teaching vocabulary

by holding up the things or pointing to object in the classroom. Beside

Ostensive is not limited to only the things which can be found in the room.

There are also ways to show the meaning of words and concepts from the

world outside the class. The kinds of Ostensive means are as follow;

1) Realia

Realia can be callled the real things. Realiathe way ofpresenting

new vocabulary by bringing the things into the classroom. A piece of

bread, a whistle, a stick, toys, and so on are easily carried out. Realia

creates interest and the students’ imagination. For example: puddles are

found in the street when it rains, but teacher can bring in small bottle of

water and create a puddles by pouring some water onto the floor. The

teacher can take the class out and introduce words for things seen in a

shop window or in the street.

2) Pictures

Objects that are not easily carried out or which are unavailable

can be presented picturially. The teacher can collect useful pictures

from magazines, newspaper, sketches, wall pictures, and flashcards or

draw it on board. For presentation purposes, simple pictures are better

because the focus is clearer and the meaning is less ambiguous. The

teacher can use the blackboard to make rapid sketches of simple things.

Then to draw more complex items, the teacher can make flashcards by

cutting off the pictures pasted onto a piece of cardboard or the cutting

of papers in the form of pictures made by the teacher.

3) Body

Both the teacher’s and student’s body can be used to get

meaning across. The techniques of using body in the teaching


commit to user

18

vocabulary are: (a) facial expression, to show feeling (e.g. happy,

smiling, hot, angry, etc), (b) gesture, using hands and arms to show the

range of meaning (e.g. fast, small, wide, etc), (c) mime and action, to

show many verbs and some adverbs (e.g. to eat, to wake up, slowly,

etc).

b. Verbal Definition

Verbal definition is the way of teaching vocabulary by using language.

Teacher can use the following means to help the students comprehend the

vocabulary.

1) Word Set

Words set are groups of related words. The teacher can use the

words in a set that the students already know in order to introduce new

related words. The presentation of the words must be related from a

general word to specific words. For example: to present the word

canary, the teacher would start from the already known concept of

bird.

2) Synonyms

Synonyms are words that mean more or less the same thing. For

example: the word coach. It is bus, but one that makes long distance

journeys. Synonyms are best shown on the board using mathematical

sign for equals, as in the following examples:

shore = beach fierce = savage

Unhappy = sad residence = home

3) Antonyms

Antonyms are words that have an opposite meaning. For

example: poor is the opposite of rich while dirty is the opposite of

clean. The sign to indicate an opposite meaning is an equal sign

crossed through, in this way:


commit to user

19

Hot >< cold full >< empty

4) Cognates

Cognates are words in the students’ own language that have the

same or very similar form as the English.

5) Hyponyms

Hyponyms are the way of teaching vocabulary by grouping of

similar words. For example: bus, van, and car are hyponym of vehicle.

Mango, banana, jackfruit, orange, grape, watermelon, and strawberry

are the hyponyms of fruit.

6) Collocations

Collocations are the way of teaching vocabulary by combining

one word to some to get across the meaning. For example: headache

but not throatache.

7) Illustrative Sentences

Illustrative Sentences are the way of teaching vocabulary by

contriving a sequence of sentences to create a linguistic context in

which the meaning of the one unknown word is illustratedfor example:

My father hates potatoes, but he loves rice.

Explanation: the meaning of to hate has been cleared in the fist

example by contrasting it with love.

8) scales

The teacher can show meaning of some types of words by

sequencing them along a scale between two anonyms. For example:

between extreme of horrible and wonderful we might have nasty,

unpleasant, pleasant, and nice, in that order. Temperatures of bath

water run along a scale for cold to hot, trough lukewarm, tepid, warm,

and scalding.

9) Translation


commit to user

20

Translation can be used when no easy alternative suggest it self.

It is sometimes better to give the mother tongue enquivalent rather than

spend a great deal of time trying to define or to show the meaning. The

time saved can be used more pre profitably on other teaching points.

10) Definitions

A definition is the way teaching vocabulary by defining or

describing objects. For example:

A cat is animal which has soft fur.

A lawn is an area of grass in the garden.

11) Word games

Word games are the wayof teaching vocabulary by presenting a

game using words. this games focuses on the word rather than the

sentence; spelling (as, for e.g. in dash it and hang it), meanings, words

for sentence-making, word as inferred from context or word as

categorized according to grammatical use. Some kind of word games

such as crossword, puzzle words, jumbled words, etc can be done by

individual, group, or as homework.

c. AudioPresentation

Audio presentation is the way of teaching vocabulary by signaling the

meaning of words. many words are easily presented by a tape recording than

by the ways already described. For example: The noise of an argument, a jet

plane, children splashing in water, and so on, are easily created.

d. RunningContext

Running context is the way of teaching vocabulary by linking all the

new words in some ways. This can be done after the presentation of the

words as separate entities or during the entire presentation. For example:

when presenting flood, thunder, and collapse. The story of the storm with

heavy rain which caused a house in your village to collapse would create

interest as the three new words are introduced. The teacher can use a picture

or bring in a pack of playing cards and build a card house to demonstrate the


commit to user

21

meaning of collapse. The important thing is to assist the process of

demonstration by linking the lesson’s new words in an interesting way if

possible.

Nation in Cameron (2001: 85) lists basic techniques by which teachers

can explain the meanings of new words to young learners in the classroom:

a. By demonstration or pictures

1) Using an object

2) Using a cut-out figure

3) Using gesture

4) Performing an action

5) Photographs

6) Drawings or diagrams on the board

7) Pictures from books

(moving images from TV, video, or computer can be added)

b. By verbal explanation

1) Analytical definition

2) Putting the new word in a defining context (e.g. an ambulancetakes sick

people to hospital)

3) Translating into another language.

From those various techniques, there are several ways in teaching

vocabulary which might suit young learner’s characteristics like objects, pictures,

action and gesture, creating a context, description or definition, and word games.

Those techniques can be developed by Crossword Puzzle, one of technique that can

cover those ways in teaching vocabulary.

5. The Importance of Vocabulary Teaching

Learning vocabulary is very important since vocabulary is a vital and an

important thing in communication. Brown (1994) says:

“... words are basic building blocks of language, in fact, survivallevel ofcommunication can take place during quite intelligiblywhen people simply


commit to user

22

string words together—without anygrammatical rules applying at all. So,if we’re interested in beingcommunicative words are the first order ofbusiness.”From the statement above, it can be concluded that vocabulary is a basic

needin communication(Krashen, 1988:155). Knowing a language may mean

knowing its vocabulary.

In language learning, vocabulary is an essential component because it

links the four skills of speaking, listening, reading, and writing altogether.

Wallace (1982:9) states that learning a foreign language is basically a matter of

learning thevocabulary of that language. However, to say that one speaks English

often refers tohow good he carries on a conversation. To be able to participate in

the conversation one should, at least, understand the key words (vocabularies)

used in it.

Vocabulary leads to a fluent speaking skill. In line with that, Cameron

(2001) adds that the foundation to learn foreign language is by building up a

usefulvocabulary. Therefore, it can be concluded that if someone wants to be able

to speakfluently, s/he needs to be familiar with the word used in a language and

that isconnected to his/her life. In line with this, Cameron (2001) says that

difficulties inlearning vocabulary may result from that vocabulary is not

sufficiently connected tostudents’ real lives. She also adds “vocabulary

development is a continuous process,not just adding new words but also building

up knowledge about words alreadyknown partially.” (Cameron, 2001:74)

Moreover, building vocabulary knowledge can support learners’

languagelearning process as a basic foundation in mastering the four language

skills. Encouraging memorization strategy is important to practice the new

vocabulary(Pinter, 2003). Using memorization technique in the classroom activity

is important,yet conventional memorization technique may usually make the

students bored, that is why teachers need to find the appropriate activity in order

to motivate the students to join but before that s/he may also understand the

principles that lie behind teachingvocabulary, especially for young learners.

6. Learning and Teaching in Elementary School


commit to user

23

As state above, English is one of local contents taught in elementary

school. It is in line with he government’s program of nine-year compulsory study.

Since the students of elementary school learn English for the fist time, the just

learn the simple English pattern including vocabulary, grammar, and so on.

The objectives learning English in elementary school are to develop their

knowledge of science, technology, and culture so that they can grow up with

Indonesian personality and they expected to be able to support the development of

tourism. Moreover, now there is a preference to teach English at Elementary

Schools even in kindergartens. English subject is included into local content in

elementary school. It is stated in the curriculum of elementary school 2004:

“SebagaiupayapeningkatankualitaspendidikankhususnyapengajaranMuatanLokalBahasaInggrisSekolahDasar, padatahunanggaran 2005DinasPendidikandanKebudayaanProvinsiJawa TengahtelahmenyusunKurikulumMuatanLokal MataPelajaranBahasaInggrisSekolahDasaruntukkelas I s.dkelasVI”(KurikulumTahun 2004 Mata PelajaranBahasaInggrisuntuk SD/MIProvinsiJawaTengan 2004:iii)

This is in line with the aims of English lesson for elementary schools

students stated in curriculum of 2004:

Mata pelajaranmuatanlokalBahasaInggris disekolahdasarinimemilikitujuansebagaiberikut:1. Siswa mampu memahamiketerampilanmenggunakanunsur-unsur tata

bunyi, makna kata, ejaan kata dalam bahasa inggris.

As explained above, the students of elementary school just learn the

simple English patterns that is, pronounciation, meaning and spelling. They do not

need to learn linguistic structure and rules. It is better if English lesson is taught

using games, the students can enjoy their lesson and are able to speak. They can

also play and learn. They will not feel that English is difficult to learn. They begin

developing vocabulary of object names around them in English.

Moreover, the important thing is the students have to understand the

meaning of new language they are learning (English). The language they learn is

different from their language. The role of the teacher is to make sure their students


commit to user

24

have understood the new language, so the teacher can organize his or her teaching

accordingly.

That is why in this research, the writer covered only three aspects of

vocabulary. That is, pronounciation, spelling, and meaning. In addition, the writer

only taught two themes to made easier to memorized the material that was taught.

The themes were “fruits” and “animals”.

B. Young Learners

1. The Nature of Young Learners

Philips (1996: 5) and Kasihani (2001) define young learners as children

from the first year of formal schooling (five or six years old) to eleven or twelve

years of age. Scoot and Ytreberg (1998: 1) mention that there are two main

groups of children. They are five to seven years old and the eight to ten years old.

Both of them are assumed as the beginners’ stage. According to Philips (1995: 7),

the young learners respond the language based on what they are going to do or

what they can do with the language itself rather than treating it as an intellectual

game or abstract system. Thus it is important to consider that teaching something

concrete is more useful than teaching the abstract one.

Based on the workshop report in European Centre for Modern Language

(ECML, 2001), there are natures of learning used by young learners, which

appear either implicity or explicity. Implicity, the young learners’ learning occurs

without awareness, automation, making sense of regularities, and it is having

knowledge without being able to talk about. Explicitly, the young learners’

learning is hard to learn but it can be described, it is unique to humans, and it is

encouraged in school.

According to the researcher, Young Learner is children from the first year

of formal schooling which divided into two main groups, 5-7 years old and 8-10

years old. Both of them consider as beginner stage.

2. Principles in Teaching Vocabulary to Young Learners


commit to user

25

Young learners learn differently from adults, especially in

learningvocabulary. Referring to the characteristic of young learners in learning

vocabulary,such as: they respond to meaning even if they do not understand

individual words;they often learn indirectly rather than directly; they learn

everything around themrather than only focusing on the precise topic they are

taught; they have curiosity andenthusiasm about the world around them; their

understanding comes not only fromexplanation but also from what they see, hear,

and interact every day (Brown, 2001),there are some basic principles that teacher

should remember in teaching vocabularyto young learners.

First, teacher should make the students think, pause and wonder

whilelearning vocabulary. Children are curious about learning new words; they

can easilyacquire the new word without knowing the meaning of that word. In

line with this,Pinter (2006) gives a statement on how children enjoy vocabulary

learning. Shementions that children can understand the concept of word well

before the concept ofgrammar. They will finally understand the meaning without

directly being taught.This is particularly important when teachers introduce new

language targets, theteachers should make the students think, pause, and wonder.

At this time, teacher may encourage them to think, because the more deeplythey

think while they are learning, the more they will commit to memory and later

beable to recall what they have learned (Pinter, 2006). So it may not work if

teachersonly ‘spoon feed’ the children by introducing a new word then directly

explain itsmeaning because children will only retain the words in a short term

memory.

Second, teacher may introduce concrete vocabulary. Since young learners

arenot ready to learn abstract words beyond their imagination, it is important for

theteachers to introduce things/vocabularies which are related to their lives

andenvironment. Cameron (2001) says that when teaching vocabulary to

youngerchildren, they need very concrete vocabulary that connects with objects

they can seeand handle. It implicates that children will only retain the words that


commit to user

26

are connected totheir environment. Things that they can see, play, interact with,

and touch.

Third, teacher may be better to introduce the words and then revisit them

inthe following day or week. In order to be able to remember the word, teacher

may bebetter to introduce the words and then revisit them in the following day or

week.Cameron (2001:74) says that learning words is a cyclical process of meeting

wordsand initial learning, followed by meeting those words again and again, each

timeextending knowledge of what the words mean and how they are used in the

foreignlanguage. Since children have limited attention span, teacher should

introduce onlylimited vocabularies in one meeting, then revisit it in the following

day to help themremember the words that have been learnt. Nation (1999, cf.

Cameron, 2001) gives anidea that a new word should be met at least five or six

times in a textbook unit beforeit has any chance of being learnt. So it may be

concluded that recycling in learningvocabulary is important to help children recall

the words that have been learnt.

Four, in teaching vocabulary to young learners, teacher should encourage

thelearners to know not only about its word but also other words related to that

word.Cameron (2001: 78) states that knowing about a word may involve knowing

about itsmeaning, its use, and its form. Knowing about a word may involves

knowing abouthow it sounds, how it is spelt, the grammatical changes that can be

made to it (itsform), its conceptual content and how it relates to other word (its

meaning), itspatterns of occurrence with other word (its use). So it is better for the

teacher tointroduce other words that have any connection with the words being

taught.

Last, one thing that should be remembered, young learners are not ready

toanalyze the component parts of language system, such as vocabulary and

grammar.For the writer, teaching Young Learner need more than ordinary system.

With their imaginative and creative characteristics, taking fun in whatever they

do, easily motivated but having short span of concentration and attention make

process of transferring knowledge from teacher to young learner requires plenty


commit to user

27

objects. Since activities for the Young Learner should include movement and the

senses, all kinds of variation to support the material lesson are needed.

C. Review on Crossword Puzzle

1. Definition of Crossword Puzzle

One type of puzzle games commonly used in the learning process

iscrossword puzzle. Subsequently, a range of crossword puzzle definitions will

bedrawn from several sources.

In general, crossword puzzle is a word game that consists of black and

whitesquares. Webster’s New World College Dictionary defines crossword puzzle

as anarrangement of numbered squares to be filled in with words. A letter

appearing in aword that is placed horizontally is usually a part of word that is

placed vertically.Crossword puzzle has clues which can be given in the form of

numbered ofsynonyms or definitions.

In line with the definition above, Cambridge Dictionary of American-

Englishadds that crossword puzzle is a word game that the answers have to be

guessed basedon the clues and be written into numbered squares that go across

and down. A letterin a word that is placed across is usually a part of word that is

placed down.

Additionally, Homby, (1974: 206) states that crossword puzzle means

puzzle in which word have to be written and stated in spaces on chequered square

or oblong (from numbered clues) vertically (clues down) and horizontally (clues

across). Crossword puzzle challenges people withoutopponents. It has a clearly

defined goal and a variety of obstacles that the player mustovercome to achieve

the goal. In other words, crossword puzzle has variety ofchallenges that people

have to solve to find the answer based on the clues given.

Therefore, it can be concluded that crossword puzzle is a word game

thatconsists of an arrangement of words which has to be filled into numbered

squares thatgo across and down.

2. Crossword Puzzle in Teaching-Learning Process


commit to user

28

Crossword puzzles have been used in education for many years.

Manyteachers in the world see the educational values of crossword puzzle that

benefitsboth teachers and students. Lewis and Mierzwa (1989; c.f Gupta, 2006)

suggest thatgames such as charades, crossword puzzles, board games, word

searches and bingoare effective teaching aids when used in the right situation.

As it is reported to be effective, crossword puzzle nowadays is used in

manydifferent classroom activities. Crossword puzzle has many advantages: it can

be used to teach vocabulary and writing; it provides students with unique and

funopportunities; it provides immediate engagement and participation; and it

providesthe opportunity to expand active learning strategy and critical thinking.

Firstly, as mentioned before, crossword puzzle can be used to teach

manydifferent subjects including vocabulary and writing. In line with that, Paul

(2003)states that crossword can be used at any level. It is a wonderful way to

bring togethervocabulary from many different lessons. Not only can crossword

puzzle be used toteach vocabulary, but also to teach writing to children because it

has an interestingclue, such as picture, which prompts the students to write words

or sentences.

Secondly, crossword puzzle provides students with a fun and

uniqueopportunity. Bailey, Hsu and Dicarlo (1999) believe that educational

crosswordpuzzle provides students with a unique, innovative, and fun opportunity

to evaluatetheir own level of learning by identifying concepts not yet mastered. It

means thatcrossword puzzle may be used to introduce new concepts or words that

students donot yet know.

Thirdly, not only can crossword puzzle be used to introduce new concept,

butalso can be used to review concepts or words that students have learnt

before.Crossword puzzle is reported to be a good review tool. According to Jones

(2007),crossword puzzles are associated with recreation and can be less

intimidating forstudents as a review tool. Since crossword puzzle belongs to one

type of games,teachers find it less threatening to be used in the review session

than those of theother tests. Jones adds that crossword puzzle is a much more


commit to user

29

active type of learning. It means that crossword puzzle will engage students with

the material more than otherpassive types of review techniques do.

Fourthly, crossword puzzle provides the opportunity to expand active

learningstrategy. A study conducted by Saxena (2009) on the use of crossword

puzzle inundergraduate pathology and medical education shows that crossword

puzzle givesstudents the opportunity to increase active learning strategy and

collaborative orfriendly competitive environment. This finding seems to support

the explanation ofSilberman above that crossword puzzle offers immediate

engagement, in whichparticipation is required in active learning strategy.

Lastly, Jimmy Jamm

(http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jimmy_Jamm)another advantage offered by

crossword puzzle in teaching-learningprocess is providing the students with the

opportunity to think critically. Students aretrained to make critical choices and

decision in a short period of time, in whichinstilling the discipline of critical

decision-making is essential to students’ survival. By practicing to decide in a

short period of time, students try to make their owncritical thinking.

Research by Daryanti (2008, Chapter 2) found that there are several

kinds of crossword puzzle that can be learned easily by students. They are:

a. Pictures to words

This game function is to identify pictures into words. The teacher

will write the name of picture of objects in the squares. Each object is

arranged according to the number and the cross-down squares. The

students have to write the name of object in the correct place in the

crossword puzzle (Tim StrukturJateng, 1999:60).

b. Half-crosswords

In this activity, the students work into two groups. Each group

has incomplete crossword puzzle. By asking or giving definitions, they

try to fill in the missing words (Larcom, 2003:6).

c. Translation crossword

http://EzineArticles.com/


commit to user

30

In this activity, the clue is given in the native language and the

answer is in the target language or vice versa. It is possible if the clues are

given both in native and target languages (Larcom, 2003: 4 – 5).

From the explanations above, it can be concluded that crossword puzzles

have important roles in teaching-learning process. Crossword puzzles can be used

as ice breaker, introducing new concept, and be used as a review tool. In this

research, the type of crossword puzzle that was used is picture to the words,

because this type is appropriate to fifth year student skill to improve students’

vocabulary mastery.

3. The Advantages of Crossword Puzzle in Teaching Vocabulary

As explained before, crossword puzzle has important roles in teaching-

learning process, especially in teaching vocabulary. Crossword puzzle

involvesseveral useful skills, including vocabulary. Crossword puzzle also

encouragesmotivation, challenge, attractiveness, and critical thinking.

First, the advantage of crossword puzzle in teaching vocabulary is

clearlystated by Jones, a home educator and writer on educational games. He

states thatcrossword solving involves several useful skills including vocabulary,

reasoning,spelling, and word-attack skill. To solve any crossword puzzle, students

must be ableto identify and understand the terms being used. It involves acquiring

new vocabularyor terminology. Correctly deciphering a crossword also requires

exact spelling, whichfor the students may mean practicing their dictionary skill.

Second, other advantages of crossword puzzle are also stated by

someprevious researchers. Solikhatun (2002) conducted a study on the effect of

usingcrossword puzzle game on vocabulary achievement of the second year

students ofSLTP Muhammadiyah I Malang, the result shows that there is a

significant differencebetween the experimental group and control group

achievement. It can be concludedthat using crossword puzzle game can improve

the students’ English vocabularyachievement. So, crossword puzzle game can be

used as an effective technique inteaching learning vocabulary.


commit to user

31

As it is reported to be effective, crossword puzzle also make the

studentsthink more deeply. The challenge offered by crossword puzzle makes the

studentsthink critically in order to solve the crossword. In line with the principle

ofvocabulary that teachers may encourage the children to think while they

arelearning(Pinter, 2006), children who think more deeply to solve the crossword

will commit tomemory and later be able to recall the words that they have learnt/

found whilesolving the crossword.

Third, due to the characteristic that vocabulary games commonly

have,crossword puzzle is also reported to be able to increase students’ vocabulary

masterybecause it motivates students to participate and engage actively with the

learningmaterial, especially learning vocabulary. In line with this, Widaningsih

(2009)conducted a research study on the use of crossword puzzle technique in

teachingvocabulary. Her participants were the students of inclusion program in

SDN KaloranWonogiri. Her finding showed that crossword puzzle increase

students’ vocabularymastery because it motivates the students to participate

during the lesson, the studentsare challenged to solve the problem encounter in

crossword puzzle. She also adds thatcrossword puzzle make the learning process

more attractive since crossword puzzlebelongs to one type of game. Her students

learn in a fun, relaxed, and enjoyableatmosphere that make them easier to

memorize the words.

In other words, crossword puzzle may encourage the students to engage

morewith the material. It motivates the students to participate in the activity,

thuscrossword puzzle may offer the students with fun, relaxed, and enjoyable

atmospherethat make the students emotionally get involved while they are

learning. And ifchildren can emotionally get involved in the lesson, they will learn

better than onlyphysically present in the classroom activity (Paul, 2003).

Fourth, encouraging memorization strategies is important in

learningvocabulary. Just like in solving the crossword, students need to memorize

the wordsthat they previously learnt then link it to new information (clues) to

finally find thepossible answer for the crossword.


commit to user

32

Fifth, crossword puzzle is also a good tool to review vocabulary.

Reviewing,revising, and recycling vocabulary that have been learnt are important

strategies tohelp students, especially children, remember the words have been

taught. The use ofcrossword puzzle to review vocabulary has been recognized by

previous teachers inmany parts of the worlds. Gerrys vocabulary teacher,

suggestions for teachingvocabulary, says that:

“Crossword puzzles are an excellent way to review vocabulary, asstudentswill immediately know their answers are incorrect if they donot fit thepuzzle. In addition, if the students can't figure out theanswer, they cansimply count the squares in the puzzle, find wordsof equal length and thentry to deduce the correct answer.”Therefore, it can be said that crossword puzzle is best to be used in

reviewingthe vocabulary that have been learnt by the students. Yet, different from

a kind of testthat teacher in a conventional teaching method commonly does,

crossword puzzle isless threatening since it belongs to a kind of game.

It has come into conclusion that crossword puzzle benefits both students

andteachers. Therefore, crossword puzzle may be used as an alternative technique

inteaching learning vocabulary, especially as a review tool.

Moreover, nowadays, the tendency in teaching vocabulary is to

presentvocabulary in texts. For vocabulary building purposes, texts - whether

spoken orwritten - have enormous advantages over learning words from lists

(Thornburry,2002: 53).

4. The Disadvantages of Crossword Puzzle in Teaching Vocabulary

Based on the writer’s experience when he held research in fifth grade

students of SD Negeri 2 Ngerangan, he found disadvantage in using crossword

puzzle. As teaching media, crossword puzzle could not cover pronounciation as

indicator and aspect of vocabulary mastery.Thornbury says that the factors of

vocabulary mastery come from the word’s aspects such pronounciation, spelling,

length and complexity, grammar, meaning, and range, connotation and idiomatic.

In this research in order to solve students’ pronounciation problem, in vocabulary

learning, the teacher should implement another teaching-technicque that is


commit to user

33

drilling.(Richard wollheim;Sigmund Freud, Cambridge University Press).Drilling

Technique is a teaching technique for teachers to drill the students by asking

them to repeat after teachers to make them remember about the lesson, even after

they have already arrived home and have done other activities. Moreover, drilling

on making good sentences and imitating good pronunciation is the maintarget of

fluency.

D. Review on Related Research

Several studies related to the use of crossword puzzle in teaching-learning

process have been conducted by several researchers as follows:

Sanchez conducted a study on the use of crossword puzzle as one of the

interactive games in teaching learning process in 2007. He found that crossword

puzzle is an excellent way to improve vocabulary. Crossword puzzle helps

studentsremember words that they have already learned, and help them learn new

words. Thefinding of this study proves that games such as crossword puzzles are

useful tools for teaching and learning a foreign language.

Another study was conducted by Rajagopal (2009) on the use of

crossword puzzle as innovative teaching practices in management education. He

said thatcrossword puzzle was very beneficial. His finding showed that crossword

puzzle canbe used as an approach to develop learning entertainment of marketing.

Crosswordpuzzle can be used as the supplements of efficacy of new learning

process throughself-learning.

Furthermore, Keong (2009) conducted a study on the use of crossword

puzzle to facilitate active learning in large classes. His finding showed that

crosswordpuzzles were utilized at the end of a series of related topics to help

students reviewthe terminologies used. The result showed that the strategy in

using crossword puzzle was resulted in a significant change in the learning

process as perceived by the students. Crossword puzzle helped students in large

classes to reinforce the concepts being learnt.


commit to user

34

As cited in Widianingsih (2009), Dorothy Swain (1999), a teacher

ofMarshfield High School, Coos Bay, also conducted a study to verify the

effectivenessof acrostic puzzles in the classroom. Her participants were the history

and philosophyscience students. She believed that acrostic puzzles are an effective

vehicle to exposestudents to the history and philosophy science without lecturing.

Students need to useall their knowledge to solve these puzzles, not just what they

have learned in scienceclasses. Students practice word-recall skills, spelling, and

pattern recognition.

E. Rationale

Vocabulary is stock of words for a particular language and used by

students in learning the language. Vocabulary is the very basic knowledge to learn

more about English. It must be mastered in order to learn English succesfully.

Considering the importance of vocabulary as the basic of learning English,

teaching vocabulary cannot be ignored. It is very important for an English teacher

to develop learning and teaching that will help students’ process of learning and

develop theirvocabulary. The development and improvement of vocabulary

learning can be achieved throught practice. In this case, a teacher is demanded to

find appropriate technique which is capable to meet to learners’ need so they can

improve their vocabulary.

Young learner is children from the first year of formal schooling which

divided into 2 main groups, 5-7 years old and 8-10 years old. This beginner stage

is different from adults in learning English. Young learners always take a great

pleasure and fun in what they do and they have greater immidiate need to be

motivated by the teacher or the material in order to learn effectively.

In learning English vocabulary, there are several problems faced by

learners especially young learner. It happens to the fifth grade students of

SDNegeri2Ngerangan Klaten who still lack vocabulary mastery. Some indicators

showing students’ problem are :

1. Some students find it difficult to identify the meaning of words.


commit to user

35

2. Students misspell English words;

3. Students pronounce english words unproperly;

Those problems cause students got marks lower than the passing grade (6.0). Most

of them get low score when they do test. It can be proven from themean of the

score. The mean of the score of the class is less than 6.0

In order to solve students’ problems in vocabulary learning, the teacher

should implement an interesting teaching medium, crossword puzzle. Crossword

Puzzleis the way of teaching vocabulary by presenting a game using words. It is

an enjoyable activity focusing on wordsdone following certain rules to achieve the

goal. A great pleasure and fun in what they do and they have greater immidiate

need to be motivated by the teacher or the material in order to learn effectively.

Some reasons why using crossword puzzles in language learning are

games automatically stimulate student’s interest.A properly introduced crossword

puzzles can be one of the highest motivating techniques and the students, in the

informal atmosphere of game play, are less self-consciuos and therefore apt to

experiment and freely participate in using the foreign language.

By using crossword puzzles as a technique in classroom action research,

the researcher can improve the students’ vocabulary mastery. Crossword puzzles

focusing on words and vocabulary itself is a set of words, therefore when students

more often to play crossword puzzles, more often they learn vocabulary. The

process of learning itself is a requirement for better improvement. Therefore, it

can be said that crossword puzzle can improve student’s vocabulary mastery.

F. Action Hypothesis

Based on the explanation about teaching and learning vocabulary in SD N

2Ngerangan, the writer proposes an action hypothesis; crossword puzzles can

improve students’ vocabulary mastery.


commit to user 36

CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

A. Context of the Research

This action research was carried out at SDNegeri2 Ngerangan Klaten. The

class used for this research wasfifth class. The composition of students in this

class is 25 students. The students are friendly that they welcome anyone new

warmly.The research had been done onJune 2012 by exploiting the use of

crossword puzzle in teaching vocabulary at fifth grade of SDNegeri2 Ngerangan

Klaten in academic year of 2011/2012.

B. Method of The Research

1. Why Action Research

The method that was applied in the research is action research. The writer

prefers conducting an action research to any other kinds of research in regard to

the problem found by the teacher of the class. The teacher has found that an

improvement in his students’ vocabulary mastery is needed. Then, what to do is to

find the solution for this. From this problem the researcher made the solution. The

solution was then applied in the teaching learning process, so that the students can

build their English better. Therefore, the type of research that best answers the

question is Action Research.

2. Definitions of Classroom Action Research

Carr and Kemmis in Burn (199: 30) state that action research is simply a

form of self-reflective equiry undertaken by participans in social situation in order

to improve the rationality and justice of their own practices, their understanding of

these practice and theri situation in which the practices are carried out. Action

research is a process in which participants examine their own educational practice

systematically and carefully, using the techniques of research. Wallace (1998: 4)

states it is done by systematically collecting data on your everyday practice and

analyzing it in order to come to some decisions about what your future practice


commit to user

37

should be. To conclude, action research is a research to solve the problem that

he/she finds in his/her classroom to make improvement and done systematically

by collecting data on the researcher practice and analyzing it.

3. Model of Action Research

Kemmis and Mc Taggart (1998) in Burns (1999: 32) explain that action

research occurs through a dynamic and complementary process, which consists of

four essential moments: planning, action, observation, and reflection.

Visually, the steps in action research by Kemmis and McTaggart (Burns:

1999:33) can be illustrated as follows.

Figure 3.1 Steps in Action Research

The classroom procedure of this research was conducted within two cycles as

shown in the following table.

37













37














commit to user

38

Table3.1. The Classroom Procedure of the Research

Cycle Procedures

1

PlanningThe writer prepared everything including lesson plans, instruments, and media

needed in implementing the action

Acting Thewriter implemented teaching and learning activities as she planned.

Observing Together with the collaborator, the writer observed all of the activities

happened in the teaching and learning process and collected necessary data

Reflecting The writer analyzed the teaching and learning process done. Based on the

analysis result, it was decided to continue to the cycle 2 since there were still

problems to solve.

2

Planning The writer made a new lesson plan containing strategies to solve the problems.

Acting The writer implemented teaching and learning activities as he planned

Observing Together with the collaborator, the writer observed all of the activities

happened in the teaching and learning process and collected necessary data.

Reflecting The writer analyzed the teaching and learning process done. Basedon the

analysis result, the problems could be solved and it was considered not to

continue the cycle

4. Procedures of Action Research

There are four steps of each cycle. The first is planning: develop a plan of

critically informed action to improve what is already happening. The second is

action: act to implement the plan. The third is observation: observe the effect of

the critically informed action in the context in which it occurs. The last is

reflection: reflect these effects as the basis for further planning.

The four steps in the model can be expanded into six steps in the

procedure of action research. The procedure is as follows.

a. Identifying the problem

The researcher identifies the problem before planning the action. The

problem refers to the factors making the low of writing skill and the


commit to user

39

passive behavior during the teaching-learning process. The problem is

identified by using four techniques: (1) test: the pre-test is given in order

to know the students’ mastery on vocabulary; (2) interview: the interview

to the teacher is held in order to get information about characteristic of

students and classroom situation during teaching-learning process; (3)

observation: the observation is held in order to know the students’

vocabularymastery and the students’ response during the teaching-learning

process and to know the class management.

b. Planning the action

General plan is made before implementing the action. The

preparation is as follows. (1) preparing materials and sheets for classroom

observation; (2) making lesson plan and designing the steps in doing the

action; (3) preparing teaching aids; and (4) preparing exercise and post-

test.

c. Implementing the action

The plan made is implemented in the teaching learning process.

The activity is to improve students’ vocabulary masteryusing crossword

puzzle.

d. Observing the action

In this case, the English teacher in SD Negeri 2 Ngerangan acts as

the collaborative observer.

The researcher observes all the activities in teaching learning

process with the collaborative observer helps to observe the teaching

learning process conducted in the class. The teacher starts to observe the

teaching learning process and the students’ responses. The researcher

gives a test to know the student’s vocabulary mastery.

e. Reflecting the result of the observation

An evaluation on the observation result is made to find the positive

results and the weaknesses of the action. The weaknesses can be refined in


commit to user

40

the next cycle so that finally the effectiveness of crossword puzzle to

improve the students’ vocabulary mastery can be determined.

f. Revising the Plan

Based on the weakness of the use of crossword puzzle in teaching

vocabulary, the plan is revised for the next cycle. It takes another cycle to

overcome students’ problem in vocabulary mastery.

C. Method of Action Research

1. Technique of Collecting Data

There were two kinds of data: qualitative and quantitative data.

1. Qualitative Data

a. Observation

According to Burns (1999: 80), observation is a mainstay of action

research, which enables the researchers to document and reflect systematically

upon classroom interactions and events, as they actually occur rather than as we

think they occur. The term observation is in the sense of taking regular and

conscious notice of classroom action and occurrences, which are particularly

relevant to the issues or topic being investigated. The researcher conducted

general observation by observing the teaching learning process in Class V to

know the students’ behavior toward English class before, while, and after the

implementing the action. The researcher observed all activities in the classroom

and made the noted based on the teaching learning process. It aimed to collect

data related to the improvement on student’s vocabulary mastery and class

situation.

b. Interview

Burns (1999: 118) says that interviews are popular and widely used

means of collecting qualitative data. In this research, the researcher interviewed

the teacher and students to know the problems in learning vocabulary. The

interview takeafter the pre-observation was conducted. Each student was asked

the same questions.


commit to user

41

2. Quantitative Technique (Test):

Besides the non-test techniques above, researcher also used test

techniques. As stated by Brown (1994: 252), test is a method of measuring

a person’s ability or knowledge in a given area. The test techniques was

conducted by giving pretest before the action begins and posttest in the end of the

action. Its aim is to know whether the students’ vocabulary mastery improves or

not when Crossword Puzzles has been implemented in classroom.The mean of the

pre-test can be calculated with the formulas as follows.

= ∑Where: = means of pre-test scores∑ = summary of pre-test scores

N = the number of sample

2. Technique of Analyzing Data

Burns (1999: 153) data analysis in action research involves moving away

from the ‘action’ components of the cycle, where the main focus is on planning

and acting, to the ‘research’ aspects, where the focus changes to more systematic

observing and reflecting. Data analysis is the point where statements or assertions

about what the research shows are produced.

This research, in qualitative dat, the writer used the method stated by

Burns (1999: 156) to analyzed the data. There are five steps and those steps are

clear and sequential. It begins with assembling the data, coding, comparing, then

building interpretations, and finally reporting the outcomes.

a. Assembling the data

The first step is to assemble the data that the researcher has collected

over the period of the research: field notes, journal entries, and so on.

At this stage, broad pattern begin to show up which can be compared


commit to user

42

and contrasted to see what fits together. By scanning the data in this

way, the researcher begins the process of more detailed analysis by

bringing up possible pattern which the researcher can adapt or add to

as the researcher proceed.

b. Coding the data

Once there has been some overall examination of the data, the

researcher developed categories or codes to identify patterns more

specifically. Coding is a process of attempting to reduce the large

amount of the data that may be collected to more manageable

categories of concept, theme or types.

c. Comparing the data

Once the data have been categorized in some way, the researcehr

made comparison to see whether themes or patterns are repeated or

developed across different data gathering techniques.

d. Building interpretations

This is the point where the researcher moves beyond describing,

categorizing and comparing to make some sense of the meaning of

the data. This stage demands a certain amount of creative thinking as

it is concerned with articulating underlying concept and developing

theories about why particular patterns of behaviors, interactions or

attitudes have emerged.

e. Reporting the outcomes

The final stage involves presenting an account of the research for

others. A major consideration is to ensure that the report sets out the

major processes of the research, and that the findings and outcomes

are well supported with examples from the data.

The quantitative data analysis is used to analyze data from the result of the

test. It is done to compare the students’ vocabulary mastery before and after the


commit to user

43

action or the result of pre-test and post-test. The mean of the pre-test and the post-

test can be calculated with the formulas as follows.

= ∑ = ∑

Where: = means of pre-test scores

= means of post-test scores∑ = summary of pre-test scores∑ = summary of post-test scores

N = the number of sample


commit to user 44

CHAPTER IV

RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

The research is aimed to identify the improvement of students’

vocabulary mastery and to identify the improvement of the classroom situation

when Crossword Puzzle is implemented as a media during the teaching-learning

process. The result of the research is elaborated into two sections: research

findings and discussion.

A. Research Findings

1. Situation before the Research

The research was conducted in Class V of SD Negeri 2 Ngerangan.

Before conducting the research, the writer held pre-observation, pre-interview to

the English teacher, and pre-test to collect the detail data. The situation before

research is summarized in Table 4.1.

Table 4.1. Situation Before the Research

Problem Indicator of Vocabulary Situation Before the Research

a. Students’ Language Skill

1) Students mispronounce English words.

2) Students misspell English words.

3) Some students find it difficult to identify the

meaning of English words.

1) Students made many mistakes in pronouncing English

words.

2) Students could not provide the missing letters to

construct correctly spelled words. They also could not

arrange jumbled letters into the correct spelling.

3) Generally, students could identify the English names

of things at home quite well. But, there were found

some students who could not identify the correct

English names of some words yet.

b. Mean Score of Pre-Test

Students’ mean score in pre-test was 5.16The pre-test mean score was lower than the minimum

standard which was 6.0.

c. Classroom Situation


commit to user

45

1) Students are too talkative during the lesson

and make the class noisy.

2) Students feel bored and sleepy.

3) There are only few students who are active

during the teaching and learning process.

4) Students are not eager to write the material on

their books

5) there is break that English lesson could not

totally focus.

1) Most of students were busy talking with their friends

when the teacher (HD) explained the material.

Therefore, the class became noisy.

2) Several students seemed lazy to follow the lesson.

There was a student yawning during the lesson. She

obviously said that English class was too long.

3) When the teacher asked questions, there were only few

students who actively answered the questions on the

white board, while others were busy talking each other

or doing their own non-academic activities.

4) They were immediately copying the material written

by the teacher (HD) on the whiteboard, when (HD)

asked them

5) This wasted the lesson time since the teacher (HD)

should make students focus to the lesson again.

Additionaly, the detail of students’ mean score of vocabulary aspects ispresented in Table 4.2.

Table 4.2. The Detail of Vocabulary Aspects’ Mean Scores of Pre-TestStudents’ Skill Mean Score

1 Pronounciation 3.62 Spelling 5.923 Meaning 5.96

Standard of Minimum 6.00

Pre-observation was conducted to identify the condition of class V before

implementing the action. It was conducted on March 27, from 10.15 a.muntil

11.45p.m. From pre-observation, it could be concluded that students of class V were

generally hyperactive students. Most of them were talkative. It would be considered

alright if they were talkative outside the class. In addtion, they were also talkative

during the lesson and made noises.

From the very beginning of the lesson, the English teacher (HD) had to

control students to enter the classroom and make the class conducive enough before

starting the lesson. This was quite not easy and took long time. They were children

after all and HD needed extra patience to condition the class and make students

ready to start the lesson.


commit to user

46

Bel berbunyi, pertanda jam ke-4 segera dimulai. Namun, suasana kelas V

masih ramai. Murid-murid susah diatur untuk duduk dan segera memulai pelajaran.

Karena itulah, pelajaran baru bisa dimulai 10.25 (Pre-Observation Note,

27/3/2012).

During the lesson, it was encountered that students did not pay attention to

the teacher’s explanation. Most of them were busy talking with their friends,

especially students sitting in the back side of the class. Actually, there were some

students who tried to pay attention to the teacher’s explanation and take notes. Yet,

since other friends surrounding were noisy, they were affected and could not focus

on the lesson.

Ada beberapa murid yang berusaha mencatat, tapi mereka terganggu

temannya yang ramai, sehingga mereka menjadi tidak fokus (Pre-Observation Note,

27/3/2012).

Furthermore, there were students lazily laying their heads on the desk and

daydreaming. Several students even asked for permission to go outside the class.

They said that they wanted to go to the bathroom, but it was clearly seen that they

just lied to get out of the class. They seemed bored during the lesson. As what

happened to a student (ARP), it seemed that she could not stand of having the

English class. He yawned and asked the teacher to just give homeworks. The writer

even heard him (ARP) said that the English class was too long. He could not be

patient anymore to go outside for the break.

Ketika HD sibuk menulis di white board, seorang siswa (ARP) bertanya

kepada teman di depannya “Bahasa Inggris berapa jam?”, temannya menjawab “2

jam”. SAR berkomentar “Lama banget...Bentar lagi bel istirahat!” (Pre-

Observation Note, 27/3/2012).

Actually, the condition of class V had already been realized by the teacher

(HD). In the pre-interview that was held on March 31, 2012, he said that students of

class V were indeed hyperactive. Actually, they could understand the lesson quite

well, but they were so noisy and difficult to control.

“ada beberapa dari mereka yang ramai. Ada yang nggak nurut, cerita


commit to user

47

sendiri, njahilin temennya, ramai sendirii... Karena itu jadi nggak fokus pada apa

yang diaajarkan dan yang ditanyakan. Sebenarnya muridnya itu bisa, tapi agak

ramai dan kadang kurang termotivasi.” (HD, Pre-Interview, 31/3/2012).

Taken from the pre-observation and pre-interview, the causes of the

problems were emerged not only from students’ hyperactive characteristics that

caused the noise, but also from the way the teacher delivered the material. During

the lesson, it was encountered that the teacher did not make students focus, motivate

and help them to understand the lesson.

In explaining the material, the teacher wrote on the whiteboard and asked

students to copy it on their notebooks. The teacher also explicitly explained English

material only from book. Indeed, this technique did not suit elementary students’

characteristics who love something fun. Therefore, students were not enthusiastic in

the learning process. They easily got bored and could not focus.

“...saya mencatat di papan tulis. Untuk mengulang pelajaran, anak-anak

saya suruh menuliskan bahasa Inggrisnya di papan.” (HD, Pre-Interview,

31/3/2012).

In addition, the teacher had also tried to make students active and involved

by giving exercises written on the whiteboard. He then asked students to fill the

answers on the whiteboard. Unfortunately, this just attracted few students to actively

answer the questions, while other students were still busy talking with friends out of

the lesson topic and unmotivate

Ketika beberapa murid maju mengerjakan di white board, siswa-siswi yang

lain (yang tidak maju) ada yang ramai sendiri dan ada yang bermalas-

malasan(Pre-Observation Note, 27/3/2012).

Besides, the teacher had also tried to use real things like pens and books in

explaining the material. He asked some students what those things were to model

the correct expressions by using those realias. But, some students could not answer

the teachers’ questions.


commit to user

48

The teacher’s instruction to copy the material written on the whiteboard into

students’ notebooks was not effective to handle the class condition and make them

pay attention to the lesson. Instead of taking note, many students were busy talking

with friends and ignored the lesson. When the teacher wanted to erase the

whiteboard and continue to the next material, students prohibited him. They had not

finished copying the material since they were busy doing other non-academic

activities during the lesson. Indeed, this wasted the lesson time because the teacher

had to wait students copying the material before erasing it and continuing to the next

one.

HD hendak menghapus tulisan di white board untuk diisi materi baru, tapi

para siswa berteriak “Jangan!” (Pre-Observation Note, 27/3/2012).

HD bertanya “Sudah selesai?”. Murid menjawab “Belum”. HD berkata

“Daritadi kok nggak nulis-nulis? Kalau nggak nulis berarti sudah jelas kan? Ayo

ditulis!”. Walaupun sudah disuruh untuk mencatat, beberapa murid tetap ramai

sendiri, bahkan ada yang Cuma diam.(Pre-Observation Note, 27/3/2012).

From the pre-observation, it was found that the teacher more focused on

vocabulary and did not give sufficient pronunciation modelling. It was also realized

by the teacher that she still lacked English pronunciation.

“Masalah saya juga kadang ada di pronunciation, saya kadang belum bisa

mencontohkan pronunciation yang benar. Karena background pendidikan saya

bukan bahasa Inggris, tetapi agama islam. Saya Cuma bisa saja dan punya

sertifikat dari lembaga. (HD, Pre-Interview, 27/3/2012).

Furthermore, it was also found that students had difficulties on English

spelling.

“Anak-anak mudah mengingat. Tapi anak-anak masih ada yang salah di

spelling-nya.” (HD, Pre-Interview, 31/3/2012).

The pre-test was held in order to know the detail problems of students’

vocabulary mastery. From the result, it was found that the students’ test result was


commit to user

49

not satisfying. Their pre-test mean score was 5.8 and it was lower than the minimum

standard which was 6.0.

From the pre-test, it was encountered that some students still could not

identify the correct English meaning of fruit and animal. Students also found it

difficult to fill the incomplete words by providing the missing letters. Besides, they

still could not arrange the correct spelling by arranging jumbled letters. In addition,

through the oral test, it was encountered that students still could not pronounce

English words correctly.

Based on the pre-research, it was identified that students’ vocabulary

mastery and the classroom situation should be improved. Therefore, crossword

puzzle was used as the teaching-learning media

2. The Implementation of the Research

a. Procedure of the Research

The research was initialized by observing the teaching-learning situation

in class V before any action was carried out. It was held in order to collect initial

data of the teaching-learning process. Pre-interview and pre-test were also held in

order to get more details of problems. Based on the initial data interpretation,

ateaching plan was developed and implemented. Observation was held during the

implementation process. Eventually, final findings were drawn at the end of the

research to conclude the reflection. The research process is summarized in Table

4.3.

Table 4.3. Summary of the Research ProcessClass Class V of SD Negeri 2 Ngerangan, Bayat, KlatenProblem identified 1) The students’ vocabualry mastery was still low.

2) The classroom situation needed to improveProposed solution Crossword puzzle as teaching-learning mediaImplementation The writer conducted the research collaboratively with HD. HD and the

writer conducted observation during the implementation. There were five


commit to user

50

meetings held within two cycles. Cycle 1 covered three meetings, whilecycle 2 covered two meetings. There was a post test conducted in the endof each cycle.

Pre-research The researcher conducted pre-observation, pre-test, and pre-interview.1. Pre-observation

In order to gain detail data, pre-observation was held on March 27th,2012.

2. Pre-InterviewThe teacher (HD) was interviewed on March 27th, 2012 to collect thebefore-research data from HD’s points of view.

3. Pre-testPre-test was conducted on March 31th , 2012. The material wasconcerned on “Fruit and Animal”.

Cycle 1 planning 3 meetingsThe researcher prepared materials, crossword puzzle, lesson plans,students’ worksheet, students’ diary and post-test.

Action Meeting 1 (April 10th, 2012) teacher showed pictures of fruit. Presenting vocabularies Pronounciation modelling students played crossword puzzle in group teacher gave worksheet, explained how to do it, and gave the example reviewing the material

Meeting 2 (April 17th, 2012) reviewing the previous material (correcting the previous game’s

answer) teacher showed pictures of others fruit Presenting vocabularies Pronounciation modelling students played their own crossword puzzle in group teacher gave worksheet, explained how to do it, and gave the example reviewing the material.

Meeting 3 (April 24th, 2012) reviewing the previous material (correcting the previous game’s

answer) asking and answering (class competition) Presenting vocabularies Pronounciation modelling drilling students played crossword puzzle in individual teacher gave worksheet, explained how to do it, and gave the example reviewing the material

Cycle 2 Planning 2 meetingsThe researcher prepared materials (animal), crossword puzzle, lessonplans, students’ worksheet, students’ diary and post-test.

Actions Meeting 1 (May 8th, 2012) reviewing the previous material taught in cycle 1 (correcting,


commit to user

51

discussion, and pronounciation review) teacher showed pictures of animal students played crossword puzzle in group teacher gave worksheet, explained how to do it, and gave the example reviewing the material.

Meeting 2 (May 15th, 2012) reviewing the previous material (correcting, discussion, and

pronounciation review) teacher showed pictures of animal students played their own crossword puzzle in individual teacher gave worksheet, explained how to do it, and gave the example discussion of today’s material. Presenting vocabulary Pronounciation practice.

Overall Reflection Students’ vocabulary mastery improved and the classroom situationbecame more conducive to study. Crossword puzzle was a helpful mediato make students more focus on the lesson and involve them interestingactivities.

From Table 4.3., it can be seen that there were two cycles conducted in

this research. There were three meetings held within cycle 1. Since it was

considered that students’ vocabulary mastery and classroom situation still needed

to improve, the cycle was continued to the second one. Within cycle 2, there were

two meetings covered.

b. Cycle 1

There were several stages within cycle 1. The first step done before

conducting any action was planning the action. This was done by preparing

lesson plans and materials. Thereafter, all that had been planned was

implemented in the class. During the implementation process, the writer

collaboratively with the English teacher (HD) observed the class situation and

students’ behaviours. From the observation, the writer evaluated and reflected the

action result. By considering the evaluation and reflection, it could be decided

whether the research was continued to cycle 2 or not. .


commit to user

52

1) Planning the action

In this stage, the lesson plan was made for the whole meetings in cycle 1.

There were three meetings planned to be conducted in cycle 1. The writer got

onemeeting for English lesson within a week. The writer collected teaching

materials from various books recommended by the teacher.

The topic of the lesson was all the same during the research, that was

“Fruit and Animal”. The main media used was Crossword Puzzle. In meeting 1,

the lesson was focused on group game. Then, in the second meeting, students

werestill in group game, but they made their own crossword puzzle. Then, swap

it to another group. Meanwhile, in the third meeting, the lesson was focused in

individual work.

2) Implementing the action.

a) The first meeting (April 10th, 2012)

The lesson started at 10.15 a.m. The writer got permission from the

class teacher (TH) to take her time for observation and optimize all

facilities in the class. Therefore, the writer took the crossword puzzle on

the wallto attract students’ attention and prepared all the material that is

needed in the class.

From the pre-observation, the writer had realized that students of

fifth classwere hyperactive and not easy to control.. After greeted students,

the writer introduced himselves.

Thereafter, the writer said that students would learn about fruit.

Before presenting the main material, the writer gained students’

background knowledge about their circumtances related with material. The

writer asked students questions like “do you know about fruit?” What’s

fruit do you know ?” As modelling stagge, the writer also presented some

pictures of fruit that they would learnt to attract students’ focus. They

mentioned all fruit that they know in their circumtances. The writer then


commit to user

53

asked the English names of them (fruits) that they had mentioned. They

tried to answer in English although they made mistakes in pronunciation.

Then, the writer stated that students would learn some of fruit that

they have seen by playing crossword puzzle. Before playing crossword

puzzle, the writer asked students some questions used pictures that would

stated in crossword puzzleto gain their background knowledge like “Apa

bahasa inggrisnya melon?”, “Apa bahasa inggrisnya gambar ini?”. They

enthusiastically answered “Melon” and “Grape”. After gaining students’

background knowledge, the writer told that students would play crossword

puzzle in group. The writer asked to students to make group of five. After

making group, Each group member gave crossword puzzle that was taken

place on the wall. There were five crossword puzzle for five groups.

Student tried to complete their crossword puzzle as soon as possible.

There was the break time in the middle of English class. After

having their break time, students entered the class again and started the

lesson. It indeed needed time to manage students before starting the

lesson. Then, the writer continued playing crossword puzzle with group of

students. This game was focused on aspects of meaning, spelling, and

pronounciation.

After the game session, the writer reviewed the material by

conducting word guessing. The writer asked the students to come infront

of class. There were three students randomly selected to complete

crossword that is stated on the wall.

After all activities were done, the writer thanked students for

paying attention and appreciated their works. Then, the writer closed the

class by saying “Good Afternoon”. Students answered the closing greeting

and left the class.

b) The second meeting (April 17th, 2012)

The class began at 10.15am. Before starting the lesson, the writer

managed the class until they were ready enough to learn.


commit to user

54

Before teaching the main material, the writer announced the winner of

the previous group game conducted in the first meeting. The winner went to

group 5 who has the best score. Each member of group 5 got rewards from the

writer. After announcing the winner, the writer together with students corrected

the previous game’s mistakes. The writer presented correct prounciation of

vocabularies from previous game.Considering that condition, the writer

decided to conduct pronunciation drilling using his own voice in order to make

students more focus.The writer conducted class drilling, group drilling, and

individual drilling.

Saya melanjutkan modelling pronunciation dengan suara saya sendiri

(The Writer’s Journal, 17/4/2012).

After having the correction session, the writer stated that students would

learn fruit still with crossword puzzle by another way in group that has made in

the first meeting. Then, they made crossword puzzle of fruit by themselves to

swap with another group. Thereafter, the writer displayed previous fruit on

crossword puzzle to refresh their mind.

Then, students played the game session. The game was played using

crossword puzzle after swaping their own crossword puzzle to another group.

The game still focused on pronounciation, spelling ,and meaning. Students had

to complete crossword puzzle that they have got.After completing the

crossword puzzle, a students of each group was asked to pronounce fruit they

had answered. The game ran well and group 4 became the winner.

In the end of the meeting, some students required the writer to give

questions to the most silent group before leaving the class. Considering their

good idea, the writer followed what they wanted. The writer gave questions to

the most silent group. Questions were taken from the previous meetings’

materials. This session was focused on meaning and pronunciation. Groups

who could answer the questions could go home.


commit to user

55

When each group left the class, the writer thanked students and

reminded them to study hard. The writer let them leave the class by saying

“Bye bye” and “Be careful”.

c) The third meeting (April24th, 2012)

The class began at 10.15am. As usual, the writer was helped by the

collaborator had to condition students until they were ready enough to start the

lesson. After greeting students, the writer asked their condition and checked

their readiness. Thereafter, the writer stated that students would learn fruits. In

this meetings, students completed crossword puzzle by individual

work.Thereafter, some previous crossword puzzle of fruits were displayed to

help students refresh their mind. While identifying fruit on crossword puzzle,

students were drilled with native pronunciations.

Dalam mencontohkan pronunciation awal-awalnya saya modelling

pronunciation dengan suara saya sendiri. Pada pertemuan ini, saya mencoba

modelling native pronunciation. Saya menggunakan audio system yang saya

pinjam dari ruang kepala sekolah atas persetujuan guru kelas (TH) dan guru-

guru yang lain.(The Writer’s Journal, 24/4/2012).

The pronunciation drilling and practice were done in class of group, and

individual.After presenting all vocabularies about fruits, students wereasked

about general questions like “Buah-buah apa saja yang sudah kalian pelajari?”.

They answered variously in English and Indonesian. After all vocabularies of

fruit were presented, students reviewed those words to strengthen their

memory.

Then, students played the game session. The game was played using

crossword puzzle by indivual work. The writer gave worksheet of crossword

puzzle to each students. The game was still focused on pronounciation, spelling

,and meaning. Students had to individually complete it.The game ran well and

Evi Damayanti got the higher score.

Before ending the lesson, students were required to review all materials

from the very beginning of materials. The writer mentioned the fruits names in


commit to user

56

Indonesian, students then mentioned those fruits names in English. This was

held to check students’ memory and pronunciation. In the end of the class, the

writer thanked students for paying attention, appreciated their works, and took

a leave by greeting them.

3) Observing the action

a) The first meeting

Students of class V were too talkactive. Actually, they were easy to

understand the lesson, but they were difficult to control. It took time to

condition them until they were ready enough to start the lesson. Their

talkactive characteristics gave both positive and negative impacts in the

teaching-learning process. In the positive side, they were active in classroom

activities. On the other hand, they tended to talk with friends and disturbed

other friends. This condition made the class noisy and not conducive to the

teaching-learning process. The warning made by the writer was effective

enough to control them.

Saya menyadari dari pre-research, anak-anak V itu sangat gaduh.

Yang saya tahu, mereka sebenarnya tergolong mudah mengerti, tapi karakter

mereka itu hiperaktif dan tidak bisa diam. Jadi, saya harus bersabar dan tetap

tersenyum (The Writer’s Journal, 10/4/2012).

In the first meeting, it could be seen that students were really interested

in watching pictures. They were children after all, and they love something

colorful. In daily lesson with HD, they seldom an interesting visual aids in

learning vocabularies.

Evi, Fara, dan Musa berkata kalau mereka suka pembelajaran meeting

1 karena ada gambar-gambar yang ditampilkan. Mereka juga suka bermain

game dan bekerja bersama teman dalam grup. Kalau pembelajaran daily

mereka biasa hanya dengan whiteboard dan buku-buku (Informal Interview

Note, 14/4/2012).


commit to user

57

The class situation could not be well controlled yet. There were

students who could not pay attention to the lesson. They were busy doing other

non-academic things. The writer had to walk around the class to control those

noisy students.

Tentu saja tetap ada anak-anak yang susah tenang. Tapi saya segera

berjalan berkeliling kelas agar saya bisa mengontrol mereka dan menegur

mereka yang ramai. (The Writer’s Journal, 10/4/2012).

Students wanted to play games. In the game session, it was found that

students were so eager to play games and work in groups. They were so

competitive and had passion to win over others. Although students were good

enough in memorizing vocabularies, they still lacked correct pronunciation.

b) The second meeting

From the previous game, it was found that students made mistakes in

answering ‘pineapple’, ‘starfruit’, and ‘mango’. This was solved by involving

the winner (group 4) to give the correct answers.

Kesalahan secara umum dari jawaban mereka ada tiga, yakni

‘pineapple’, ‘starfruit’, and ‘mango’. Untuk pembenaran, perwakilan grup 4

maju memberikan pembenarannya beserta pronounciationya. (The Writer’s

Journal, 17/4/2012).

In the pronunciation drilling, the writer also found that students still

made mistakes in pronouncing some words. But, their vocabulary memory was

considered good. By using crossword puzzles, it was easier for them to identify

things in English.

In the game session, students were enthusiastic to play and work with

friends. In game session, students have already known their group. In this

meetings, students still confused how to make their own crossword puzzle.

After explaining how to make their own crossword puzzle, the writer asked

students to finish their work. Through the game session, it was encountered

that students were generally enthusiastic to answer questions. However, there


commit to user

58

were students who were still shy to get the chance to answer questions. The

game ended by getting group 4 as the winner.

Di game ini, banyak siswa yang antusias menyelesaikan tugas mereka.

Bahkan seorang siswa (ZP) yang biasanya diam, dia dengan antusias

menjawab pertanyaan yang dia miliki pada grup. (The Writer’s Journal,

17/4/2012).

In the end of the meeting, students wanted groups to compete in

guessing words as the requirement to leave the class and go home. It showed

that students were eager to do competitive activities. This request was

beneficial as the writer’s strategy to check students’ memory and

pronunciation. Some pronunciation mistakes were still found.

c) The third meeting

As usual, students had to be conditioned until they were ready to start

the lesson. In this meeting, for drilling section, the writer used native audio

record about fruits. It made students understand more in pronounciation.

After having modelling in the pronounciation, students’ understanding

was checked by giving them questions. Through this session, it was

encountered that some students could easily answer the questions.

Nevertheless, they were generally enthusiastic to answer questions, especially a

student (ARP) who was eager to answer several times.

Disinilah anak-anak begitu antusias ingin menjawab pertanyaan,

bahkan ARP menjawab berkali-kali. (The Writer’s Journal, 24/4/2012).

But, there were students who still could not be active and were shy to

express their answers. It was also encountered that students still made several

pronunciation mistakes.

4) Reflecting and evaluating the result

Reflection stage was aimed at examining the final result of the action in

Cycle 1 and to find its strengths and weaknesses. The result of the reflection


commit to user

59

would be used as the basis for arranging the plan for the next cycle. Some results

of the research in Cycle 1 are as follows

a) The Improvement of Students’ Vocabulary Mastery

The researcher could report that there was improvement on

students’ vocabulary mastery based on the post test 1 result. The mean

score between pre test and post test also improved from 5.8 into 6.35. The

student’s mean score can be seen clearly as follows:

Table 4.4 Students’ Mastery on Vocabulary Aspects Based on the Post-test 1Students Vocabulary Aspect Mean Score

Pronunciation 5.56Meaning 6.72Spelling 6.76

Minimum Standard 6.0

Based on the data, the highest score in the post test 1 was 90.63 and the

lowest score was 53.13. Furthermore, the average score was 73.35. Another

important consideration was about students’ scores viewed from their mastery.

The students’ mean score in pronunciation was 75.29. The students’ mean score in

grasping the meaning was 82.35. The students’ mean score in spelling word was

46.76. The students’ mean score using the word related to context was 30.29

b) Change in Class Situation

The implementation of Crossword Puzzles gives effect for the

Class V SD Negeri 2 Ngerangan. It changed the classroom situation in

Class V of SD Negeri 2 Ngerangan. The change of classroom situation is

as follows:

Table 4.5 The Improvement of the Classroom Situation after in Cycle 1Before Action Research After Action Research

a. The class was noisy; many students did

non academic activities.

b. There are only few students who are

active during the teaching and

a. Some students discussed with their group to

identify the vocabulary.Some students also

tended to make noises in the class to the

teaching-learning process especially in

second meeting.b. Some students asked question to their friend

and sometimes to the researcher to share their


commit to user

60

learning process.

c. Students feel bored and sleepy.

d. Students are not eager to write the

material on their books

e. there is break that English lesson

could not totally focus.

difficulties. Some students were more active to

share their discussion result and answered the

quiz

c. Students learning in group, so they more

concerned with their own group.

d. Students are eager to write the material on

their books.

e. Students are focus in teaching-learning

process.

The writer also explains several positive results and some weaknesses in

the first cycle. It can be seen on the vocabulary mastery aspect and class situation.

They are described as follows:

Table 4.6 The Strengths and Weaknesses of the Research Implementation in Cycle

1Strengths Weaknesses

Vocabulary Mastery:(1) Students were able to grasp and

remember the meaning.(2) Students were able to spell English

words.

Vocabulary Mastery:a. Students still had problem in pronouncing

English words.

Class Situation:(1) Some students were concerned with their

own group in discussing activity.(2) Some students were active to answer the

question.(3) Some students were brave to share their

problem to their friend and to theresearcher.

Class Situation:a. Some students disturbed other groups.b. Some group did the task uncooperatively,

only some member did the discussion.c. some students also tended to make noises in

the class especially in second meeting

5) Revising the plan

Considering the reflection in cycle 1, the research was continued to the

second cycle. There were several problems related to students’ vocabulary


commit to user

61

mastery and classroom situation that needed to be solved. Based on the post-test

1 result, some students still had problems especially on pronunciation. In the oral

test, although there were students who had already improved their pronunciation,

many students still could not pronounce some words correctly. Therefore, the

second cycle was more focused on pronunciation, without neglecting other

aspects. The class management should be improved to condition students so that

the class situation would be conducive enough. As done in the first cycle, not all

meetings in the second cycle would be conducted in class. Because the negative

impact of second meeting in first cycle. In second cycle, the writer only

conducted two meetings.

Table 4.7. The Summary of Cycle 1Topic

introduced

Fruit

Cycle 1 planning In Cycle 1, there were three meetings.

Meeting 1: vocabulary about fruits; meeting 2 : vocabularies of others fruit;

meeting 3 : vocabularies all fruit that they have learnt.

Media : Crossword Puzzle

Actions Meeting 1

Theme : vocabulary about fruits.

Activities :

- Taking crossword puzzle on the wall.

- Showing some pictures as modelling stages related with today’s

material

- Asking Ss to guess what fruit is stated in the pictures.

- Group game of crossword puzzle.

- Reviewing materials

Meeting 2

Activities:

- reviewing the previous material (correcting the previous game’s answer)- Presenting vocabularies- Pronounciation modelling- students played their own crossword puzzle in group- teacher gave worksheet, explained how to do it, and gave the example- Pronounciation modelling- reviewing the material.


commit to user

62

Meeting 3

Theme : vocabularies all fruit that they have learnt.

Activities:

- Showing some crossword puzzle of fruit that they have learnt

- Showing the right meaning and spelling.

- Presenting the model of proper pronunciation using audio native speaker

- Individual game of crossword puzzle.

- Asking and Answering

- Reviewing material of crossword puzzle at home

Observation Meeting 1

- The class was so noisy. Some students talked with friends, disturbed

others, and walked around the class.

- Students were really interested watching pictures.

- Students were eager to play game and work in group.

- Students were so competitive.

- Students were quite good at memorizing vocabularies, but they could

not pronounce the words correctly

Meeting 2

- Students were still difficult to condition

- Students made mistakes in spelling words.

- Students still mispronounced some words.

- Students were enthusiatic to play game and work with friends.

- Some students were still shy to answer questions.

- Students still mispronounced some words.

Meeting 3

- Students were still difficult to condition.

- Students were eager to answer the questions.

- Some students still mispronounced some words.

Reflection a) Teaching and learning process

- Crossword Puzzle was used as teaching media.

- Students were actively involved in class activities.

- Students were involved in fun games and group works.

- There were students who were still shy and not confident to express

their answers.

- Students did not fully respect the importance of the lesson including

the test yet.


commit to user

63

b) Vocabulary Mastery

Students still had problems on spelling and pronounciation.

Problems to solve:

a) Classroom management to condition students. Students had to be well

controlled.

b) There were some students who were shy and not confident in expressing

their answers.

c) Students still had problems in vocabulary mastery especially aspects of

spelling and pronounciation.

d) Students’ motivation and respect towards the lesson still needed to

incresase

Revision Considering the reflection of cycle 1, the research was continued to cycle 2.

Students’ vocabualry mastery and classroom situation stiil needed to be

improved.

c. Cycle 2

After considering the reflection and evaluation result, the writer found

there were still problems needed to solve. Some vocabulary aspects and

classroom situation still needed to be improved. Therefore, the research was

continued to cycle 2. The same stages were done within the second cycle. It

began by planning what and how the action would be conducted. This was done

by making lesson plans. Thereafter, the planned actions were implemented.

During the implementation, the writer collaboratively with the English teacher

(HD) observed the classroom situation and students’ behaviours. From the

observation and post-test result, the writer could reflect and evaluate whether the

research should be continued to the next cycle or not. In this cycle, the writer

only implemented two meetings. He remove activity in second meeting of cycle

1.

1) Planning the action

Cycle 2 was planned to be conducted after students had their mid-

semester test.There were two meetings conducted in cycle 2. The second cycle


commit to user

64

was more focused on reteaching pronunciation, without neglecting other

aspects.Main focuses in meeting 1 were group gamesand pronunciation.

Meanwhile, the lesson in meeting 2 was more focused onpronunciation,

individual works andvocabulary review. In cycle 2, the class management had to

be improved so that students could have the listening session and practiced the

pronunciation.

2) Implementing the action

a) The first meeting (May 8th, 2012)

The first meeting was conducted after the mid semester test ended.

The main focuses of the first meeting were group games and pronunciation.

The lesson began at 10.15am. As usual, students were firstly conditioned until

they were ready to start the lesson. There were three students who were

absent that day. To open the meeting, the writer greeted students and checked

their attendance. Thereafter, the writer asked students about their mid-test

result and mid semester holiday. Then, the writer announced who got the best

score in the previous post-test 1.

Before doing main activities, students were asked whether they still

remembered fruits that they hadlearnt. The writer stated that students would

learn animal with crossword puzzle by group works.

Thereafter, as modelling stage the writer displayed pictures of

animals before playing the crossword puzzle game. In the end of this session,

they could leave the class to have their break time.After having the break

time, students came back to class. When they had been ready to continue the

lesson, they were instructed that their answers of the previous session would

be corrected by other group.

After game session the writer decided to conduct pronunciation

drilling using his own voice in order to make students more focus. The writer

conducted class drilling, group drilling, and individual drilling.After all

questions were answered, students were asked to pronounce those answer to

review their pronunciation.


commit to user

65

Setelah semua objek terjawab, saya mengajakanak-anak melafalkan

jawaban mereka yang ada dalam crossword puzzle untuk mereview

pronunciation mereka secara kelas dan grup (The Writer’s Journal,

8/5/2012).In the end of the meeting, the writer thanked students, appreciated

their works, and took a leave

b) The second meeting (May 15th, 2012)

The lesson began at 10.15am. The main focuses in the second

meeting were individual works, pronunciation and meaning. The writer

opened the meeting by greeting students and checked their readiness to have

the lesson. Then, the writer stated that students would play a crossword

puzzle game. Students played individual work game that was focused on

pronunciation.

Then, students played the game session. The game was crossword

puzzle by indivual work. The writer gave worksheet of crossword puzzle to

each students. Students had to individually complete it.The game ran well and

Fara Dianita got the higher score.

There wereasking and answering questions about today’s material

with crossword puzzle. Each students involved to give opinions whether the

answers were correct or not. Besides, the other students also permitted to

correct the wrong answers, especially mispronunciation.

Sambil tiap siswa menjawab, siswa lain dimintai pendapat dan

dilibatkan apakah jawaban temanya ya benar atau salah. Terutama koreksi

mereka tentang pronunciation (The Writer’s Journal, 15/5/2012).

Thereafter, students had a vocabulary review session. All crossword

puzzles which have been learnt in previous meetings were displayed again.

This session was focused on pronunciation and vocabulary memory. In the

end of this session, the audio files of native pronunciation were played.

Students were conditioned to be quiet enough to listen to the native

pronunciation. It indeed took times to condition and manage the class to

become conducive enough for the listening session. By conditioning the class


commit to user

66

and explaining the importance of pronunciation, the class could be quite

wellmanaged. Students could cooperate to keep noises during the listening

session. Due to the conducive situation, the audio files were played through

small speakers that could be heard clearly enough. So, students could listen to

the native pronunciation modelling and follow how to pronounce correctly.

...saat sesi listening, kelas terkondisikan dengan baik. Mereka mau

diam untuk mendengarkan suara native (maklum speakernya kecil jadi

mereka harus diam agar kedengaran). Alhamdulillah mereka mau

bekerjasama untuk diam sejenak dan mendengarkan native speaker,

kemudian menirukan suaranya (The Writer’s Journal, 15/5/2012).

Due to the limited time, not all audio files of native pronunciation

were played. The class ended after the listening session finished. To close the

meeting, the writer thanked students for paying attention, appreciated their

works, and said goodbye.

3) Observing the action

a) The first meeting

The first meeting was focused on reteaching pronunciation, but other

aspects were not neglected. Students of class V really like competitive

activities. Through this session, students’ vocabulary memory, spelling, and

pronunciation could be checked.

The game session ran well. Students were so enthusiastic in this

session. Students’ works were continued after the break time.After completed

the Crossword Puzzle, they swapt their work to the other. When a group came

in front of the class and finished crossword puzzle, other groups were

involved to give their opinions whether the answers were correct or not,

especially the pronunciation aspect. Students were enthusiastic to give

comments and correct their friends’ mistakes.

Sambil tiap grup maju menjawab, grup lain dimintai pendapat dan

dilibatkan apakah jawaban grup yang maju benar atau salah. Terutama


commit to user

67

koreksi mereka tentang pronunciation. Alhamdulillah, siswa-siswa sangat

aktif terlibat dalam mengoreksi grup yang maju (The Writer’s Journal,

15/5/2012).

Through this group game of crossword puzzle, students’ vocabulary

memory andpronunciation could be checked and the errors especially

mispronunciation could be corrected.Those who were aware of their errors

immediately corrected their answers. But, those who did not realize their

mistakes let other friends who knew the correct answers come forward and

help them to provide the correct answers.

Saat mengisi jawaban di Crossword Puzzle, masih ada beberapa

siswa yang salah, tapi mereka (yang tahu letak kesalahannya) segera

membetulkan, sedangkan mereka yang tidak tahu letak kesalahannya, teman

lain (dalam satu grup) yang tahu maju membetulkan (The Writer’s Journal,

15/5/2012).

Through this session, the class was actively involved in relearning

the spelling aspect. They helped each other by correcting errors and mistakes.

They also appreciated their friends who successfully provided the correct

answers. After correcting their works, students had pronunciation practice of

all answer in the game session. The pronunciation practice ran well. Through

this session, students’ pronunciation errors could be corrected.

b) The second meeting

In the second meeting, students played individual game. Their

hyperactive characteristics gave positive impacts towards the game activity.

The game was especially focused on relearning meaning and pronunciation.

There were students who could easily guess the crossword puzzle

answer. Students who could easily guess said “Yeeeee! Tauuuuuu!” and

“Alah gampang!”(Critical Incident, 15/5/2012). Nevertheless, there were also

some students who still needed longer time to recall their memory and guess

the answer correctly.


commit to user

68

Mereka antusias sekali mengikuti sesi ini. Ada yang cepat sekali

menjawabnya, sampai-sampai meminta crossword puzzle lainya. Tapi ada

juga anak yang berteriak belum selesai (The Writer’s Journal, 15/5/2012).

After finishing their works, the writer asked students to swapt their

work to the other one. They were enthusiasm in answering the questions.

Students competed to get the chance to answer the crossword puzzle question.

This clearly showed the competitive characteristic of V students.

There was a student who honestly said that she forgot some

vocabularies, so she provided wrong answers. A student said “Aku lali,

pak...” (Critical Incident, 15/5/2012).

To check and strengthen students’ vocabulary memory and

pronunciation, the review session was held. Overall, their vocabulary memory

was good although there were some vocabularies they forgot like giraffe and

peacock. In the pronunciation review, students listened to the native

pronunciation voice. It was great that students could be conditioned quite

well. They could cooperate not to make any noise for a while so that the

native voice, which was played through small speakers, could be heard

clearly. Students were enthusiastic listening to the native voice. Right after

they listened to the native pronunciation, they followed how to say the words

correctly.

Mereka antusias ingin mendengarkan suara native. ... Dan

alhamdulillah, saat sesi listening, kelas terkondisikan dengan baik. Mereka

mau diam untuk mendengarkan suara native (maklum speakernya kecil jadi

mereka harus diam agar kedengaran). Alhamdulillah mereka mau

bekerjasama untuk diam sejenak dan mendengarkan native speaker,

kemudian menirukan suaranya (The Writer’s Journal, 15/5/2012).

4) Reflecting and evaluating the result

In the second cycle, students were more active during the teaching-

learning process. They were so enthusiastic and competitive. Although there were


commit to user

69

students who forgot some vocabularies, most students generally could guess and

spell the animals’ names correctly. Students also actively participated in checking

and correcting their friends’ errors and mistakes.Students who knew the answer

helped to correct the mistakes so that all students could know the correct one.

Besides, students who were usually shy to express their answers, became

more confident time to time. For example, a student named PRS was so shy and

not confident to answer questions though she knew the answers. During the

second cycle, she became more brave to answer questions. Even, she was

confident came in front of the class to answer the game’s questions.

Furthermore, it was easier for the students to condition. It gave good

impacts in building a conducive teaching-learning situation. Even, in the second

meeting, students could cooperate to keep any noise during the listening session.

They more respected the importance of the lesson. Since students could be

conditioned, the listening session could run well. The class situation was quiet

and conducive enough, so the sound of native pronunciation played through small

speakers could be clearly heard. Therefore, students could listen to the correct

native pronunciation modelling.

In addition, there was an improvement on students’ vocabulary mastery.

The mean score of post-test 2 proved it. It was 7.35, higher than the mean score

of post-test 1 which was 6.35. Students’ higher motivation and

seriousnesstowards the importance of the lesson also played roles in the mean

score improvement. During the post-test 2, many students said that they could

successfully do the test. Some of them said “Gampang, miss...” (Critical

Incident, 22/5/2012).

Table 4.8. The Summary of Cycle 2Topic

introduced

Animal

Cycle 2 planning In Cycle 2, there were two meetings. The second cycle was more focused on

reteaching pronounciation, without neglecting other aspects. There was

listening section that listened audio native record.


commit to user

70

Main focus in Meeting 1: group work;

Main focus in meeting 2 : individual work.

Media : Crossword Puzzle

Actions Meeting 1.

Activities :

- As modelling stage, teacher some pictures related with today’s material

- Asking Ss to guess what animal is stated in the pictures.

- Group game of crossword puzzle

- Pronounciation modelling, drilling and practice.

- Reviewing materials

Meeting 2.

Activities:

- Reviewing previous material

- Showing the right meaning and spelling.

- Individual game of crossword puzzle.

- Presenting the model of proper pronunciation. (listening to native

pronounciation)

- Asking and Answering

- Reviewing material of crossword puzzle at home

Observation Meeting 1

- Students were really enthusiatic playing the game.

- There were some students who forgot some vocabularies.

- Students were eager to play game and work in group.

- By correcting works together, students helped each other in the learning

process.

- Students were enthusiastic to give comments and correct their friends’

mistakes.

- Students were so competitive.

- They were still found some mispronunciations.

Meeting 2

- Students were enthusiastic to give comments and correct their friends’

mistakes.

- Students were active and enthusiastic to answer questions including

students who were usually shy in previous meetings.

- Students ccoperatively followed the writer pronounciation.


commit to user

71

Reflection a) Teaching and learning process

- Crossword Puzzle was used as teaching media.

- Students were actively involved in class activities especially in

checking and correcting other friends’ errors and mistakes..

- Students were involved in more fun and competitive and group

works.

- Native pronunciations could be presented as the modelling and

drilling practice.

- Students who were usually shy became more confident to express

their answer in front of the class.

- Students more respected the lesson and were more serious doing the

test.

Finding as the

Whole

a) Teaching and learning process.

- Students were interested in learning vocabularies through colorful

pictures presented in Crossword puzzle.

- Students were eager to play fun and competitive games both group

and individual works.

- Students respected the lesson more.

- Students became easier to be conditioned to create a conducive

situation.

b) Vocabulary mastery.

- Most of students could pronounce vocabularies correctly. There were

only few students who still made minor errors in pronouncing words.

- Most of students could correctly spell vocabularies. Errors and

mistakes could be reduced through students’ experiences.

- Students have good vocabulary memory.

3. Findings

By analyzing various data sources, research findings were gathered

including the use of Crossword Puzzle to improve students’ vocabulary mastery

and the classroom situation during the teaching-learning process. The research

findings are summarized in Table 4.6.


commit to user

72

Table 4.9. Research Findings

Indicators

before

research

Criteria Situation prior to

the research

Cycle 1 Cycle 2

Instruments of collecting data: student’s documents,

observation, interview, pre-test, post-test 1

Instruments of collecting data: observation,

interview, post-test 1, post-test 2

Meeting 1 Meeting 2 Meeting 3 Meeting 1 Meeting 2

Student’s

language

Skill

1) Studens

mispronou

nce

English

words.

2) Students

misspell

English

words.

1) Students made

many mistakes

in pronouncing

English words.

2) Students could

not provide the

missing letters

to construct

correctly spelled

words. They

also could not

1) Students

made many

mistakes in

pronouncing

fruits.

2) Students

made

mistakes in

spelling.

From the

game result,

they

1) Students

made

mistakes in

pronouncing

some words.

2) There were

found some

misspellings.

But, students

who knew the

right spelling

helped other

1) Students still

made several

pronunciat on

mistakes.

2) There were

some

misspellings

found.

1) There were still

found some

mispronunciat

ions.

2) There were found

some

misspellings

during the class

discussion.

Students helped

each other to

1) There were

minor

pronunciati on

mistakes

found. Students

could identify

their friends’

pronunciati on

mistakes.

2) Students had

fewer

difficulties in

spelling words.


commit to user

73

3) Some

students

find it

difficult to

identify

the

meaning

of English

words.

arrange jumbled

letters into the

correct spelling.

3) Generally,

students could

identify the

English names

of fruits quite

well. But, there

were found

some students

who could not

identify the

correct English

names of some

words well yet.

generally

misspelled

the words:

mango,

pineapple

and grape.

3) Students

were good

enough in

memorizing

words of

fruits. But,

some

students still

had problem

in

memorizing

names of

fruit.It was

found during

the game

session.

students in

providing the

correct

answers.

3) Students were

good in

memorizing

names of

fruits.

3) Students were

good in

memorizing

names of

fruits. There

were some

words that

they forgot.

provide the

correct spelling.

3) Overall, students

could identify the

animals’ names.

Some students

forgot some

words.

3) Overall,

students were

good in

memorizing

animals’ names

although there

were some

vocabularies

they forgot like

rabbit and

giraffe.


commit to user

74

Result of test The mean score of pre-test was 5.16

which was under the passing grade

(6.0).

The mean score of post-test 1 was 6.35. It passed the passing

grade.

The mean score of post-test 2 was 7.37 which

had passed the passing grade (6.0).

Classroom

Situation

1) Students are

too talkative

during the

lesson and

make the

class noisy.

2) Students

often ask

for the

teacher’s

permission

to take a

pee during

1) Most of

students were

busy talking

with their

friends when

the teacher

(HD)

explained the

material.

Therefore, the

class became

noisy.

2) They said that

they wanted to

take a pee, but

they seemed

just want to get

out of the

class.

1) Students were

noisy and

difficult to

control. There

were students

who could not

pay attention

to the lesson.

2) There were

two students

asking for

permission to

take a pee.

But, it was

doubted if

1) Students were

noisy and

difficult to

control.

2) There was no

student asking

for permission

in the middle

of the lesson to

take a pee.

1) Some

students were

still noisy and

difficult to

control.

2) There was no

student

asking for

permission in

the middle of

the lesson to

take a pee.

1) Students wereeasier to control.

2) There was no

student asking

for permission in

the middle of the

lesson to take a

pee.

1) Students were

easier to control.

Even, they could

keep any noise

during the

listening session.

2) There was no

student asking

for permission in

the middle of the

lesson to take a

pee.


commit to user

75

the lesson.

3) Students

feel bored

and sleepy.

4) There are

only few

students

who are

3) Several

students

seemed lazy to

follow the

lesson. There

was a student

yawning

during the

lesson.

4) When the

teacher asked

questions,

there were only

they really

wanted to go

to the toilet.

3) Students were

involved in

fun activities.

They got busy

competing to

answer

questions, so

they were kept

active during

the lesson.

However,

some students

still did other

non-academic

activities.

4) Generally,

students were

active during

the class

3) Students were

involved in fun

activities. They

got busy

competing to

answer

questions, so

they were kept

active during

the lesson.

However, some

students still

did other non-

academic

activities.

4) Generally,

students were

active during

the class

3) Students were

involved in

fun activities.

They got busy

competing to

answer

questions, so

they were

kept active

during the

lesson.

4) Generally,

students were

active during

the class

3) Students were

involved in fun

activities. They

got busy

participating in

the class

discussion.

4) Almost all

students were

active during the

lesson.

3) Students were

involved in fun

activities.They

got busy playing

the game and

participating in

the class

discussion.

4) Almost all

students were

active during the

lesson. The shy


commit to user

76

active

during the

teaching

and learning

process.

5) Students

bother their

friends

during the

lesson.

few students

who actively

answered the

questions on

the white

board, while

others were

busy talking

each other or

doing their

own non-

academic

activities.

5) There were

some students

who tried to

pay attention to

the teacher’s

explanation

and take notes.

Yet, since

other friends

activities.

They were

eager to play

games and

work in group.

Nevertheless,

there were

students who

were not

confident to be

active in

answering

questions.

5) Some students

bothered their

friends during

the lesson.

activities. They

were eager to

play games and

work in group.

Nevertheles,

there were

students who

were not

confident to be

active in

answering

questions.

5) Some students

bothered their

friends during

the lesson.

activities.

Nevertheless,

there were

students who

were shy to

express their

answers.

5) Some

students

bothered their

friends during

the lesson.

5) Some students

still bothered

their friends

during the

lesson. But, they

could be

controlled to pay

attention to the

students became

more confident.

5) Some students

still bothered

their friends

during the

lesson. But, they

could be

controlled to pay

attention to the


commit to user

77

6) Students are

not eager to

write the

material on

their books.

surrounding

were noisy and

bothered them,

they were

affected and

could not focus

on the lesson.

6) Instead of

immediately

copying the

material

written by the

teacher (HD)

on the

whiteboard,stu

dents busily

talked with

their friends.

This wasted

the lesson time

since the

teacher (HD)

6) Instead of

being forced

to write the

material,

students felt

more

interested to

do fun

activities

related to the

material.

6) Instead of

being forced to

write the

material,

students felt

more interested

to do fun

activities

related to the

material.

6) Instead of

being forced

to write the

material,

students felt

more

interested to

do fun

activities

related to the

material.

lesson again.

6) Instead of Being

forced to write

the material,

students felt

more interested

to do fun

activities related

to the material.

lesson again.

6) Instead of being

forced to write

the material,

students felt

more interested

to do fun

activities related

to the material.

took note

without any

command.


commit to user

78

should wait

them until they

permitted HD

to erase the

whiteboard and

continued to

the next

material.


commit to user

79

a. The Improvement of Students’ Vocabulary Mastery

The use of Crossword puzzle as the teaching media had helped

students’learning process, so their vocabulary mastery could improve. It is

proved by the increase of mean score through pre-test and post-tests. The positive

change of students’ attitudes shown day by day also played role in the increase of

test score. Furthermore, the number of students who passed the test also increased

through tests. The improvement of students’ achievement is presented in the

following figures and table.

Figure 4.1. The Improvement of Students’ Mean Scores

Table 5.0. The Improvement of Students’ Vocabulary Aspects

Aspects P S M MeanPre Test 3.6 5.92 5.96 5.16Post Test 1 5.56 6.76 6.72 6.35Post Test 2 6.64 7.60 7.88 7.37

P: Pronounciation; S: Spelling; M: Meaning

There were three students having different intelligence level who got

more attention in this research. The improvement of their achievement is

summarized below.

Table 5.1. The Sample of Students’ Achievement

012345678

Pre-test Post-test 1 Post-test 2

Students' mean score

Students' mean score5.16 7.376.35


commit to user

80

Students’ initial name FD MME ARP

Pre-test 7.33 5.33 3.0

Post-test 1 8.33 7.0 5.0

Post-test 2 9.0 7.33 6.67

Student A is indeed known as a clever student. In the class, she always

paid attention to the lesson. She always passed the passing grade in pre-test and

posttests. she could understand the lesson quickly. Furthermore, she made a little

mistakes in pronunciation. Basically, she did not need a special treatment during

the research.

Student B is considered in the average level. Actually, he had a good

motivation. Nevertheless, he was a shy student. Although he knew the answers of

given questions and wanted to answer, he was not confident to speak up in

English. Furthermore, he easily got bored and tended to make noises in the class.

During the research, Crossword puzzle with various pictures helped him to focus

on the lesson. He was more interested to pay attention and active in the class

activities. Through the meetings, he was more confident than before.

Student C is included in the lower level. Actually, he is a special student.

He had lower intelligence level than other students. He could not quickly

understand and memorize the materials like other friends. Nevertheless, he liked

playing fun games and doing group works. Due to his weaknesses, he needed to

be specially motivated and treated so that it would be easier for him to understand

the lesson.

In conclusion, the sample students had improved their

vocabularymastery. It is shown in their improvement of test scores and attitudes.

b. The Improvement of the Classroom Situation

Comparing to the condition before the research was conducted, there

were some positive progresses in the classroom situation. Before the research,

almost all students were busy doing non-academic activities. The conventional

teaching process without an interesting media made students easily got bored and


commit to user

81

tended to make noises during the teaching-learning process. Students were not

easy to control. Therefore, the class became not conducive.

But, the condition changed positively with the help of Crossword

Puzzleas the teaching media. Various colorful pictures presented in the game

could attract students’ attention. They became more focused on the lesson and

were helped to understand the materials.

It was said by one of students (ED) that learning English with various

pictures inside the crossword puzzle was interesting.... dia suka karena ada

gambarnya . Kalau daily learning bersama HD biasanya dari buku, papan,

latihan soal, dan mencatat (ED, Informal Interview Note, 15/5/2012).

Besides, there were challenging games and group works that facilitate

students of Class V who were competitive. They enthusiastically played the

games of crossword puzzle. They could be actively involved in class activities

and explore their skills more.

Moreover, students were more easily to control and condition. Even, they

could cooperate to keep any noise during the listening session in the second

meeting of cycle 2.The native pronunciation could be heard clearly enough, so

students could get the pronunciation modelling.

c. The Improvement of Students’ Behaviour

Students’ behaviour in the class also changed during the research. In the

earlier meetings, they were not that respectful to the writer. But, they became

more friendly and cheerful through days. They always happily greeted the writer

and called the writer’s name whenever they saw him passed the class. Besides,

girl students were not shy to joke the writer and wanted the writer to teach them

longer.

Furthermore, there were some positive progresses shown by some

students who were usually shy in the class. They were not confident to speak up

although they knew the answers. But, through the meetings, those shy students

became more confident answering questions. They more actively participated in


commit to user

82

the games and bravely raised their hands competing with other friends to answer

questions.

B. Discussion

1. Crossword Puzzle is Able to Improve Students’ VocabularyMastery

The implementation of crossword puzzle as the teaching-learning media

had improved students’ vocabulary mastery. Three aspects in vocabulary

concerned in this research could be improved. Those are pronunciation, spelling,

meaning. The final result of test, showed students’ higher achievement.

Table 5.2. The Improvement of Students’ Vocabulary Achivement

Aspects P S M MeanScore

Pre Test 3.6 5.92 5.96 5.16Post Test 1 5.56 6.76 6.72 6.35Post Test 2 6.64 7.60 7.88 7.37

P: Pronounciation; S: Spelling; M: Meaning

In the learning process, crossword puzzle had aided students

tounderstand the materials better. Due to the characteristic that vocabulary games

commonly have, crossword puzzle is also reported to be able to increase students’

vocabulary mastery because it motivates students to participate and engage

actively with the learning material, especially learning vocabulary. In line with

this, Widaningsih (2009) conducted a research study on the use of crossword

puzzle technique in teaching vocabulary. Her participants were the students of

inclusion program in SDN Kaloran Wonogiri. Her finding showed that crossword

puzzle increase students’ vocabulary mastery because it motivates the students to

participate during the lesson, the students are challenged to solve the problem

encounter in crossword puzzle.

Gerrys, vocabulary teacher, suggestions for teaching vocabulary, says that:

“Crossword puzzles are an excellent way to review vocabulary, as studentswill immediately know their answers are incorrect if they do not fit thepuzzle. In addition, if the students can't figure out the answer, they cansimply count the squares in the puzzle, find words of equal length and thentry to deduce the correct answer.”


commit to user

83

As it is reported to be effective, crossword puzzle also makes the students

think more deeply. The challenge offered by crossword puzzle makes the students

think critically in order to solve the crossword. In line with the principle of

vocabulary that teachers may encourage the children to think while they are

learning (Pinter, 2006), children who think more deeply to solve the crossword

will commit to memory and later be able to recall the words that they have learnt /

found while solving the crossword.

The use of crossword puzzle as teaching media, not only gave benefit but

also gave difficulty to the teacher. Especially, to cover students’ pronounciation.

From those reasons the writer used another technique to support crossword puzzle

as teaching media teaching vocabulary.

In order to solve students’ problems, pronounciation, in vocabulary

learning, the teacher should implement another teaching-technicque that is

drilling.Drilling Technique is a teaching technique for teachers to drill the

students by asking them to repeat after teachers to make them remember about the

lesson, even after they have already arrived home and have done other activities.

Moreover, drilling on making good sentences and imitating good pronunciation is

the main target of fluency.

2. Crossword Puzzle is Able to Improve the English Classroom Situation

Crossword Puzzle helps teachers to manage the class. It can attract

students’ attention and make them focus on the lesson.

During the research implementation, students were more motivated to

follow the lesson. They did not seem sleepy or bored. By the support of crossword

puzzle, teachers can create interesting material and fun games or group works to

keep students alive in the class. For example, they can be involved to share their

answers by completing the crossword puzzle. Other students are then invited to

comment the answers and give correction if they find mistakes.

Crossword puzzle may encourage the students to engage more with thematerial. It motivates the students to participate in the activity, thus crosswordpuzzle may offer the students with fun, relaxed, and enjoyable atmosphere thatmake the students emotionally get involved while they are learning. And if


commit to user

84

children can emotionally get involved in the lesson, they will learn better thanonly physically present in the classroom activity (Paul, 2003).

Daryanti (2008) conducted a research study on Teaching Vocabulary

Using English Crossword Puzzle As An Alternative Medium To Improve

Vocabulary Mastery: An Action Research At Sdn 1 Badakarya Banjarnegara. Her

finding showed that crossword puzzle increase students’ vocabulary mastery

because it motivates the students to participate during the lesson, the students are

challenged to solve the problem encountered in crossword puzzle. She also adds

that crossword puzzle makes the learning process more attractive since crossword

puzzle belongs to one type of game. Moreover , the crossword puzzle with picures

made her students learn in a fun, relaxed, and enjoyable atmosphere that makes

them easier to memorize the words.

Crossword puzzle provides the opportunity to expand active learning

strategy. A study conducted by Saxena (2009) on the use of crossword puzzle in

undergraduate pathology and medical education shows that crossword puzzle

gives students the opportunity to increase active learning strategy and

collaborative or friendly competitive environment.

Those finding supportthe research findings of the writer. the research

findings show that the students became motivated to learn English. Students enjoy

their learning so much that they might not realize they are doing so. After the

crossword puzzle were used in the class, the students did not think that English

was boring anymore. They enjoyed the teaching and learning process in English

class.

By building such conducive atmosphere, it increases students’enthusiasm

to be active in the class and help them explore their skills.Additionally, students

more focus on the lesson, so their non-academic activitiescan be reduced.


commit to user 85

CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION, IMPLICATION, AND SUGGESTION

A. Conclusion

There are several findings resulted from the research. It had been

identified thatthe fifth grade students of SDNegeri2Ngerangan Klaten are still lack

of vocabulary mastery. Some indicators showing students’ problem are :

4. Some students find it difficult to identify the meaning of words.

5. Students misspell English words;

6. Student’s pronounce english words unproprely;

It could be seen from the observation result during pre-research and the

mean score of pre-test that is less than 6.0.

Besides, the problems were also indicated from the classroom situation.

They are: (1) students are too talkative during the lesson and make the class noisy.

Most of students were busy talking with their friends when the teacher (HD)

explained the material. Therefore, the class became noisy; (2) students feel bored

and sleepy. Several students seemed lazy to follow the lesson. There was a student

yawning during the lesson; (3) there are only few students who are active during

the teaching and learning process; (4) students are not eager to write the material

on their books. They were immediately copying the material written by the

teacher (HD) on the whiteboard, when (HD) asked them; (5) there is break that

English lesson could not totally focus. This wasted the lesson time since the

teacher (HD) should make students focus to the lesson again.

After the writer did the action research by Improving Students’

Vocabulary Mastery Using Crossword Puzzles in SD Negeri 2 Ngerangan, it can

be concluded as follows:

1. The use of Crossword Puzzle improves students’ vocabulary mastery.The

improvement of students’ vocabulary mastery is shown by the increase of


commit to user

86

students’ mean scores through pre-test and post-tests. Compared to the

mean score of pre-test which is 5.16, the mean score of post-test 1

increased up to 6.35. Then, the mean score of post-test 2 increased up to

7.37. The improvement of students’ behaviors during the teaching-learning

process also gives positive contribution in the increase of the mean score.

This could happen due to the helpful crossword puzzle that was packaged

in such ways to gain students’ attention towards and involve them in the

lesson.

2. Crossword Puzzle in the English class gives positive improvements to the

classroom situation. Attractive Crossword Puzzle with colorful pictures

attract students’ attention to focus on the lesson. It can stimulate and

motivate students of Class V who are so competitive to be fully active in

the class. By more involving students in interesting class activities, it can

decrease students’ boredom in the learning process.

3. All of them are the advantages ofCrossword Puzzle. Meanwhile, in this

research, the writer found that crossword puzzle also has disadvantages.

Crossword puzzle can not cover students pronounciaton which is one of

vocabulary aspect. So, the writer solved the problem by using drilling in

his research

Based on the discussion in the previous chapter and the research findings

presented above, the writer concludes thatthe use of Crossword Puzzle to teach

English can improve students’ vocabulary mastery.

B. Implication

In teaching vocabulary to young learners, teachers should use an

appropriate teaching medium that is helpful in the teaching-learning process. The

appropriate teaching media can motivate students in language learning.

Absolutely, teachers also need to develop the teaching media to create interesting

teaching activities that stimulate students to learn. The creativity in developing the

use of teaching media will be helpful to achieve the teaching-learning goals.


commit to user

87

Considering the characteristic of today’s students who are more

techsavvy, teachers should not be left behind. They should not just

useconventional teaching media like whiteboard, but they should use various

teaching media that matches nowadays such as games. Unfortunately, there are

many teachers who are still afraid to use various teaching media in the class. They

assume that using games as teaching media is difficult and takes long time.

By using the Crossword Puzzle, teachers can optimize its use not only to

present materials in general, but also to create interactive and interesting games

that stimulate students to learn. Students can also be involved in the

implementation of crossword puzzle. This is considered a simple thing, but it can

encourage students to be active in the class. In the higher level students, they can

even be involved to creatively design their own Crossword Puzzle.

The use of Crossword Puzzle could notachieve all aspects of vocabulary

mastery especially on pronounciation.For covering pronounciation aspects, the

writer used another teaching teachnique that is drilling. In addition on his

research, the writer presentspronunciation by attaching audio files and by his own

voice. Furthermore, it can also be developed to conduct class discussion which

facilitated students to present their answers and invite others’ feedbacks.

In conclusion, Crossword Puzzle facilitates teachers to present materials

in an attractive and interactive way. This is a helpful teaching media alternative.

C. Suggestion

Based on the experiences of the writer during the action research, the

writer proposes some suggestions for the betterment of students’ vocabulary

mastery as follows:

1. For the teacher

The English class, once, was uninteresting and the students mostly

unmotivated. As the result the teacher found many obstacles during

teaching learning process.The teacher should know how to enhance

students’ ability in teaching and to develop a good classroom situation, so


commit to user

88

that the students learn easily and comfortably in their class.Crossword

Puzzle is one of teaching media alternatives. It is simple but complete.

With somecreativities in designing Crossword Puzzle, teachers can make

an attractive material. Absolutely, teachers need to develop the appropriate

teaching media to create interesting class activities that suit students’

characteristics so that students can be motivated to learn.The pictures can

be used during modeling stage. Authentic materialdelivered by pictures

will attract students to have further discussion.

2. For the students

a. Students who are taught by using Crossword Puzzle should be active

and creative in teaching learning process.

3. For the institution of Education

An institution of education should be provided with facilities

which support the teacher to improve their quality of teaching. It can be

done by providing some teaching media and language laboratory or other

teaching media that can enhance teaching.

4. For the other researcher

a. The other researchers can get a valuable experience which can be used

for doing a better action research in the future.

b. The other researchers can use this research as additional resources to

conduct research about teaching reading.


commit to user

89

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Anonymous. (2008). Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (Third Edition).Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Anonymous. (2009). Webster’s New World College Dictionary. Cleveland. Ohio:Wiley & Son, Inc.

Arikunto, Suharsimi. (2008). Prosedur Penelitian Suatu Pendekatan praktik.Jakarta: PT Rineka Cipta

Austin, E. A. (2009). The Use of Crossword Puzzle Game in Teaching EnglishVocabulary. Retrived fromhttp://ninareny.blogspot.com/2009/05/use-of-crossword-puzzle-game-to-teach_15.html

Bailey, C. M., Hsu, C.T. and Dicarlo, S.E. (1999). Educational Puzzles forUnderstanding Gastrointestinal Physiology. Journal of Advances inPhysiology Education, 21 (1), S1-S18

Brown, H. 2001. Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to LanguagePedagogy. San fransisco: Longman

Burns, Anne. 1999. Collaborative Action Research for English LanguageTeachers. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.

Cameron, L. 2001. Teaching Languages to Young Learners. The EdinburghBuilding:Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Cohen, Louis. Manion, Lawrence. (1994). Research Method in Education.(Fourth Edition). London: Newfettelane

Cross, David. 1995. A Practical Handbook of Language Teaching. Bath: TheBath Press.

Daryanti. 2008. Teaching Vocabulary Using English Crossword Puzzle As AnAlternative Medium To Improve Vocabulary Mastery: An ActionResearch At Sdn 1 Badakarya Banjarnegara.

Gerrys .Suggestion for Teaching Vocabulary. Retrievedfromhttp://www.cpr4esl.com/gvtteacherscorner.htm

Hadfield, J. (2001). Intermediate Vocabulary Games. Harlow. Essex: Longman.

Harmer, Jeremy. 1991. The Practice of English Language Teaching. Cambridge:Longman.

Haycraft, Jonh. 1997. An Introduction to English Language Teaching. Cambridge:Longman.

Hopkins, David. 1993. A Teachers’s Guide to Classroom Research. Buckingham,Philadelphia: Open University Press.

Homby, As. 1995. Oxford Advance Learner’s Dictonary. Oxford: OxfordUniversity Press.

Huebener, Theodore. 1965. How to Teach Foreign Language Effectifely. Newyork; New york university Press.

Jones, Kerry. (2008). Teaching with Crossword Puzzle. Retrievedfromhttp://vocabulary.co.il/blog/learning_vocabulary/teaching-with-crossword-puzzles/

http://ninareny.blogspot.com/2009/05/use-

http://www.cpr4esl.com/gvtteacherscorner.htm

http://vocabulary.co.il/blog/learning_vocabulary/teaching-with-


commit to user

90

Jung, I.Chen. (2005, February). Using Games to Promote Communicative Skillsin language Learning. The Internet Tesl Journal. Vol. XI. No. 2.Retrieved fromhttp://iteslj.org

Kasihani Kasbolah E . S. 2001. Penelitian Tindakan Kelas. Malang: UniversitasNegeri Malang Press.

Keong, Seow. Teck. (2009). Two Strategies to facilitate Active Learning in LargeClasses. Retrievedfromhttp://www.cdtl.nus.edu.sg/brief/v12n4/sec4.asp

Kilickaya. (2007). Teaching English with technology.A journal for teacher. Vol.7Retrieved fromhttp://www.cpr4esl.com/gerrys_vocab_teacher/teaching_suggestions.html

Krashen, Stephen. 1982. Principles and Practices in Second LanguageAcquisition. Britain: Pergamon Press.

Larcom, D.I. 2003. English is Fun(Third Edition). Bekasi: Kesaint Blace.Lehr, Fron, Jeon osborn, and Elfrida H.Hiebert. (2005, November 18). A Focus on

Vocabulary. Retrieved fromhttp://www.perl-org/products/re/ES0419.htm

Mills. 2000. Action Research. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity.

Nunan, David. 1998. Language Teaching Methodology. London: Prentice HallInternational.

Nation, ISP. 1990. Teaching ang Learning Vocabulary. New York: NewburyHous Publishers.

Paul, David. 2003. Teaching English for Children in Asia. Hongkong: LongmanAsia ELT.

Pinter, A. 2006. Teaching young Language Learners. Oxford: Oxford UniversityPress.

Rajagopal. (2009). Innovative Teaching Practices in Management Education.Retrivedfromhttp://profrajagopal.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/Innovative_Teaching_Practices.29582544.pdf

Sanchez. (2007). Interactive Games in Teaching Learning Process. Retrievedfromhttp://www.teoriaypraxis.uqroo.mx/doctos/numero4/Martinez-Perez-Portillo.pdf

Saxena. (2009). Crossword Puzzle: Active Learning in Undergraduate Pathologyand Medical Education.A Journal ArticleRetrievedfromhttp://www.highbeam.com/doc/1p3_1858623911.html

Scott, Wendy A, and Ytreberg, Lisbeth H. 1990. Teaching to Children.Cambridge: Longman.

Solikhatun. (2002). The Effect of using Crossword Puzzle Game on Vocabularyachievement of the Second Year Students of SLTP Muhammadiyah IMalang. Retrievedfromhttp://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl.php?mod=browse&op=read&id=jiptumm-gdl-s1-2002-solikhatun-8781-crossword

Thornburry, Scott. 2002. How to Teach Vocabulary. Singapore: Longman.

http://iteslj.org

http://www.cdtl.nus.edu.sg/brief/v12n4/sec4.asp

http://www.cpr4esl.com/gerrys_vocab_teacher/

http://www.perl-

http://profrajagopal.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/Innovativ

http://www.teoriaypraxis.uqroo.mx/doctos/numero4/Martinez-

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1p3_1858623911.html

http://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl.php


commit to user

91

Ur, Penny. 1998. A Course in Language Teaching: Practice and Theory.Cambridge: Cambridge Universtiy Press.

Weisskirch, Robert. S. (2006). Article: An analysis of instructor-createdcrossword puzzles for students review (course material). Retrievedfromhttp://www.highbeam.com/doc/IGI.143341156

Wharton, Glenn. (1995). Crossword Puzzles: One Way to ImproveCommunication Strategies.English Teaching Forum 33 (1) Pp. 47-48

Widaningsih. 2009. Increasing Vocabulary Mastery Using Crossword PuzzleTechnique in Inclusion Program in SDN Kaloran Wonogiri.

Wiersma, William. 2000. Research Method in Education. University of Taledo: APearson Education Company.

Wilkins, David. A. 1972. Linguistics in Language Teaching. Cambridge:Cambridge University Press.

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/IGI.143341156

improving students ˇ vocabulary mastery using ...... · perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id...

Documents